Formidable
by RisaLovesCato
Summary: The 74th Hunger Games. The Capitol may be craving star-crossed lovers, but perhaps they are not from the same district. "And for some reason, I have a feeling that Cato is exactly what I was during the tribute parade…formidable."/COMPLETE
1. Formidable

_My first fan-fic ever. I believe that instaneous love is absolutely ridiculous, so don't expect the story to get all gooey and mushy anytime soon. :D_

_I honestly tried to use some good vocab, but I admit, it is quite hard to find the right words. Anyways, hope you guys like it. I'm not sure if I should continue this fanfic, so reviews would be appreciated._

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><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

I feel formidable. Beautiful…maybe, but formidable? Definitely.

I see my face on the screen, gray eyes staring ahead, determined. The stylists whisper to each other, no doubt commenting on the costume that Cinna has designed. The dark material holding the dress together is aflame, artificial fire illuminating the chariot in which I stand. Hand in hand, Peeta and I stroll down the walkway, and I wish that _this _was what the Hunger Games was. Crowds, publicity, feasts. If only. I try not to think about the real Games, which involves killing and general violence. The Capitol seems to enjoy seeing children die, however.

The crowds on either side of the walkway are going crazy, as Peeta and I draw near the end of the tribute's parade, flowers rain down on my head. In a moment of pure confidence and bliss, I catch a rose in my teeth, barely flinching as the thorns scratch against my lips. The people are reaching out over the barriers that hold them back, desperate to touch the girl on fire.

There is another round of cheering as our chariot rolls to a stop. I spit out the rose and the exuberance that washes over me slowly dies down, leaving a slightly less hysterical sensation of joy.

The other tributes are shooting us dirty looks, obviously angry that District 12 has outdone them. District 1 is covered in glitter and all things shiny, but the expressions on the tributes' faces imply that there is nothing glittery about the way they plan to kill us. District 2 sports a pair of tributes wearing Roman-like garb. The girl scowls in her white chiffon dress, but the muscular boy just looks bored. He wears a golden helmet and matching armor. I remember seeing him lunge forward to volunteer at the reaping.

As President Snow begins to speak, my eyes meet the boy's icy gaze. There is undeniable arrogance and pride there, and I quickly look away and instead focus on prying my hand out of Peeta's tight grip. As Snow's rambles on about the history of Panem and the purpose of the Hunger Games, I keep my eyes straight ahead.

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><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

They stroll down the walkway, obviously looking for attention. Little show-offs. Figures, the year that I volunteer as tribute is the year that District 12 actually gets a good stylist. The girl catches a rose and a huge smile slowly materializes on her face.

Clove is getting quite worked up, glaring at the pair of them. I stand rigidly next to her, fighting the urge to send a scowl of my own towards District 12. I put on my mask of boredom, a look perfected after years of listening to girls drone on about my looks, my strength, and whatever else they admire. Usually they leave, disappointed, after a while.

The girl with the fire-dress looks around the ring of tributes, her smile gradually fading. As Snow starts talking, she makes the mistake of meeting my eyes. I suppress a snicker as her gaze drops.

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><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

When Snow's speech is over, I walk towards Haymitch and Effie, who both have a proud shine in their eyes. Cinna quickly extinguishes the last of the fire as the prep teams gush about our performance.

"Not bad, sweetheart." Haymitch adds, genuine pride hidden under the sarcastic remark. He claps me on the back, nearly pushing me to the ground.

"That was brilliant!" Effie bursts out. "Considering that you're from District 12, of course." She quickly adds, composing herself. But there is a huge grin on her face.

I feel eyes upon my back, and indeed, nearly all of the other tributes are examining Peeta and me as they are fussed over by their own prep teams. Once again, it is District 2's haughty expressions that capture my attention.

"Uh, Haymitch. What's the name of the tributes from District 2?" I ask. Haymitch turns towards me and scratches his chin.

"The names are Killer and Sorceress." He must have seen the look of horror that flashed over my face, because he snickers. "The boy is Cato, the girl is Clove."

I breathe a sigh of relief, it honestly wouldn't be hard to imagine them with ominous names like Killer or Sorceress. Clove is about the same size and build as I am, with dark hair and eyes. Cato is light-haired, tall, muscular, and -although I would never say it out loud- obviously attractive. I can imagine the girls from school flocking up to him, all aching for a chance to talk to him.

His expression is still bored, uninterested, as if there was nothing spectacular about our chariot or the people in it. I feel a wave of indignation wash over me, and there is this strange desire to see Cato smile. But no, apparently we weren't worth his interest, although he _had _been observing us. He was from District 2, for heaven's sake, one of the districts closest to the Capitol in location. Unfortunately, they are usually also closest to the sponsor's hearts. I wouldn't be surprised if sponsors were already lining up, more than happy to support Cato and Clove.

Peeta suddenly appears next to me, and his expression darkens as he follows my stare. "C'mon Katniss, we have to get back to our floor. According to Effie, we have a 'big big day tomorrow'."

"Well, you do! Tomorrow you start training." Effie interjects, herding us towards the elevators. She looks ridiculous in her tight bright yellow dress and six-inch heels. But as the elevator doors close, I barely notice. Tomorrow, we will see what skills the other tributes have, if any. And for some reason, I have a feeling that Cato is exactly what I was during the tribute parade…dangerously formidable.


	2. Training

**Modified this chapter a bit. Hopefully it's better than the last? Lol...anyways, thank you all for the reviews. I'll try to update tonight. :)**

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><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

"Ugh…they can't be serious. Did you see that stupid smile on District 12's freakin' faces? And the girl catching those roses? Why can't we have their stylist?" Clove wails, pacing back and forth.

I roll my eyes. She's been ranting for an hour now. Probably just jealous that the girl from 12 had a more extravagant costume. I'm lying on my bed, staring up at the ceiling, which also serves as a plasma screen. They've replayed the parade twice already. The camera crews spent a reasonable amount of time on our entrance, but the way that they keep on flicking their lenses back to District 12 is pathetic. As if dressing up would actually make those underfed scamps a threat. They could both be dead in seconds if I set my mind to it. But who would? Like I said, they aren't a threat.

"Geez, calm down already. They probably can't even lift a knife. And they're _not_ going to take any of our sponsors. I'll make sure of that." I smirk, after 3 days of training; we would be assessed by the Game makers. "Now get out of my room. It's past curfew, and we have training tomorrow." I continue. I lift my head to see Clove spit out a few more choice insults, some aimed towards me, before she strides out of the room, still fuming.

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><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

The training attire fits well enough, although whoever tailored it probably thought that I would have more curves. This morning, having learned from my mistakes, I had only turned the dials for heat and water when showering. It was still intriguing to imagine what the other functions were used for; I had no idea why anybody would want to have glitter dumped on them while the water was still on their skin. Then again, I hardly understand anything here in the Capitol. Back home, lukewarm water and a bar of scentless, grey soap took the place of fancy shampoos and creams. Feeling comfortable in the black, red, and silver nylon shirt and pants, I slip my feet into the lithe shoes at my doorway, and make my way to the living room, where Haymitch, Effie, and Cinna are waiting.

I sit down on the couch, my hands on my lap, until Peeta enters the room, in similar clothing. We are escorted to the Training Center, which is in between floors 6 and 7. The silver doors are merely feet away before Haymitch bestows upon us his "wisdom".

"Both of you, listen. Try to learn how to throw a knife, tie some knots, and even spend a while at the plants station. Learn as much as you can, and try to find out who's friendly and who's not." He sounds like he's only a little drunk, so I take this as good advice.

We enter the Training Center, and my eyes immediately stray towards the wall where hundreds of weapons are waiting. They have everything from huge silver bows to tiny wooden slingshots. Around the spacious room, tributes have already claimed stations. I see the girl from 1, uniform showing more skin than it should, struggling to pull back the bowstring on a bow; and wince as she sends the arrow flying towards the windows in the back of the room, narrowly impaling a training attendant.

"Where do you want to go first?" Peeta asks. I can see him eyeing the camouflage station, and I know that he's itching to paint something. He's told me that he decorates the cakes, beautiful flowers and delicate designs.

I'd rather try some of the weapons, but I don't want to abandon my district partner. The indecision that flashes in my eyes show, because Peeta heads towards the camouflage station, calling out over his shoulder that it was alright if I went to practice with the knives.

I weave between the stations, finally stopping when I reach the target area. Dummies and targets are everywhere, bright red and blue paint marring the rubber and wood. The District 1 boy and Clove are already there, each armed with deadly-looking blades. Clove throws her knife at a target that is ten feet away, and it hits the bulls-eye. As she goes to retrieve the weapon, I think that it is fortunate that I run fast.

The weapon selection is so large that it's impossible to choose.

I decide on a small but lethal looking knife that I can grip easily. Ignoring District 1 and his huge knife with its jagged edge, I move down the row of targets, putting a good 7 or 8 feet between myself and him. Perhaps throwing knives was like shooting a bow…you just had to have good aim. Perhaps.

But when I try to hurl the knife at a nearby dummy, it bounces off the rubber surface, and ends up on the floor. Wouldn't that be handy if the dummy were an opponent…the weapon doesn't even pierce their skin, they get a free knife, and a chance to kill me. Lovely.

Ever vigilant, I pick up the knife and try again. This time, it actually sticks into the dummy's arm, which is an improvement. Next, I aim for the wooden targets to my left. Clove and the boy are still hitting the bulls-eyes every time, and I feel a pang of jealousy. But they are Careers, so that must be the reason why they are so deadly with sharp objects.

The way that Clove throws effortlessly looks well-practiced, and I imagine her standing with a knife as a young child, training for a time when her skills would be necessary. I retrieve my knife for what seems like the millionth time, one hand gripping the wooden handle, the other hand pushing against the bright target.

Suddenly, I see a flash of silver out of the corner of my eye. A knife barely clears my nose before lodging itself inches deep in the wood, the handle still quivering, in between my outstretched fingers. Mere centimeters away from my freshly manicured nails.

"What the hel-? Whichever idiot threw the knife, you almost chopped off my fingers. " I growl, the indignation written across my face. I don't realize who I am talking to until Cato jogs up to the target and pulls the knife out, smirking. His short blond hair is sticking up, perfect as always, kept in place with gel.

"Sorry 'bout that, District 12. Didn't see you there." Cato answers. He doesn't sound very apologetic. The smirk is still on his face.

"My name is Katniss." I retort, unamused. If his aim was off by even the slightest of millimeters, the knife would have been lodged in my hand, not the target. But what was I thinking? The great and mighty Cato never missed. "_You conceited jerk._" I add under my breath.

"Alright, _Katniss._ No need to get all riled up.." He heads back to the area where you stand to throw the weapons, and I follow, trying to match my quick but short strides to his longer ones.

"I know who you are. And you obviously need glasses if you didn't see me." I watch as Cato picks up a spear, his icy eyes examining the metal shaft.

"Maybe. But maybe you're just not important enough to be noticed." His eyes are as icy and arrogant as ever, but the smirk is gone, replaced by a crooked smile. I know that he's joking. But that doesn't stop me from remaining furious. He turns, distracted by the overwhelming scent of lilacs that had entered the area. I wrinkle my nose at the unwelcome smell. The blonde girl from district 1 makes her way towards us, a hopeful smile on her face. She flashes a grin towards Cato, white teeth practically glowing.

"Glimmer." I notice that the bored expression is back on Cato's face, accompanied with another smirk. I restrain from rolling my eyes, and wonder if this is Cato's real personality. But the image of the crooked smile and amused look that had been replaced so quickly still is fresh in my mind.

"Cato." Glimmer replies with the same amount of coolness. "Have you decided who will be part of your group yet?" She arches an eyebrow, clearly expecting to be invited. A pale finger absent-mindedly twirls a strand of her honey-colored hair.

"No, actually. I haven't seen enough yet. You _could_ be one of the lucky few, if you're better with a knife than you were with that bow." Cato snickers. So he saw what I saw, although there was no real need to point it out. Maybe he only wants the best in his group. Glimmer furrows her eyebrows and looks confused.

"But...I was fine with the bow." She purses her lips and looks towards her district partner who is still hurling knives through the air. "Whatever. I'll just go practice with Marvel." Glimmer walks away, still looking slightly confused.

The spear leaves Cato's hands and skewers through a dummy that is twenty feet away. Suddenly, I don't want to be practicing next to this trained physical wonder, handling swords as if they were toothpicks. Next to him, I look even worse. And I can't afford that.

Seeing that Cato has now moved on to hacking another rubber dummy to bits with a sword, I slip away and join Peeta, who has mastered the art of camouflage. I look back towards Cato, who is beheading an unlucky mannequin, and I raise my eyebrows at Peeta's beautiful, but most likely useless work. I do not know if Cato is "friendly", but tomorrow I shall find out.


	3. Triumph

**I'm supposed to be studying for a test, but I just had to type this up. I know that it isn't my best, but it was fun. I think that the rest of the story will follow the original plot at times, but be different at others. Anyways, hope you like it. Review please. :)**

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><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

"Glimmer seems intent on joining the alliance. Marvel too." Clove smirks. She knows that I don't particularly like the tributes from District 1 this year. "And she probably won't protest if you _just happen_ to show interest in her looks either."

The elevator continues upwards. The glinting of the Capitol's buildings can be seen through the glass walls.

I growl a response. I plan to be the leader of the Career alliance this year. Clove will definitely be part of the group, but I'm not sure about Glimmer or Marvel. I haven't met District 4 yet, but hopefully they meet my standards. Only the best will be chosen. I am still debating whether Marvel is good enough with weapons to join, when we enter the training center. Most of the others have already arrived.

"Marvel is decent with the spear." Clove remarks quietly. She always knows what I'm thinking. Well, almost always. Masks are too easy to wear, especially in the Hunger Games, where betrayal is common.

"Fine. But he could be a problem if Glimmer is killed in the arena." Marvel clearly is too attached to his district partner, although she acts as if he doesn't exist at times. If only she would just make him happy and flirt with him instead of me. I have no time for weak things like love. I'm here to win.

"Your choice…if they're not with us, they're against us." Clove's eyes flash as she walks towards agility station. I join her, and we dodge flying weapons in silence.

As the last rubber-tipped arrow passes near my arm, the head training instructor claps her hands loudly. She is holding a clipboard, and is checking off names anxiously.

All the tributes finish what they are doing and gather around the instructor. I see Marvel exchange knowing glances with Clove, and narrow my eyes as she nods at Glimmer. The instructor claps her hands for silence again, and the sound echoes in the already quiet room. This is obviously her first year. I smirk and nudge Clove.

"Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark?" The woman flicks her eyes around the circle of tributes. She then looks up at the head Game maker, Seneca Crane, who wears a disapproving frown as he paces in a balcony over the room. She'll probably lose her job if District 12 doesn't show up soon.

But there is the sound of doors banging open, and the pair from 12 barge in, breathless. Noticing the stares, they try to quietly join the group of tributes.

"Today you will all be practicing hand to hand combat with a partner." The instructor looks immensely relieved at the arrival, and her voice is more confident. I nudge Clove again, and she smiles darkly, happy at a chance to wrestle with me. "Your partners have already been chosen, so don't make arrangements yet." Shoot. With my luck, I'll be with Glimmer…and Marvel would never let me hear the end of it if I hurt her.

"Clove and Rue. Thresh and Marvel." The instructor continues down her list, finishing with, "Glimmer and Katniss. Cato and Peeta."

Good. The girl from 12 can't do much damage. I wouldn't put it past Marvel to protest if Glimmer received a single scratch, but on the other hand, I doubt that he would come out with anything less than a scratch…the boy from 11 guarantees an interesting fight. Wish that I'd gotten him as a partner instead of the nervous looking boy from 12.

A large mat is placed where the instructor had been standing, clearly onlookers are welcome. I cross my arms, ready for a show.

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><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

I suck in a breath. Cato looks smug, and shoots a look of amusement towards us. Peeta looks very nervous, and I can imagine why. "Don't worry, you can take him." I tell him reassuringly.

"Yeah, good luck with Glimmer too." Peeta still looks miserable, although slightly less, and I regret planting false hope in him.

Clove and Rue go first. I involuntarily wince as Clove pins Rue down in a matter of seconds. The younger girl tries to push her opponent off, but Clove just holds her there until the instructor blows her whistle. Rue immediately flees, and goes to hide behind a stone pillar nearby.

Thresh and Marvel both put up a good fight, even landing several punches on each other. After a few minutes, Thresh has the upper hand and is practically sitting on the other boy's chest. A whistle is blown as Thresh draws back his fist, looking ready to knock Marvel out. Marvel scurries towards Glimmer, cheeks red, and chest heaving for air. Thresh walks towards the pillar where Rue had disappeared and leads her out with gentle hands.

The tributes from non-Career districts like mine just scramble around for a while, often ending with both individuals lightly swatting at each other, too tired to even care anymore. But the matches involving District 4 are decent, and I see Cato paying extra attention to them.

Finally it is my turn, Glimmer walks onto the mat, and smiles so much that you would think that she'd already won. Before I'm even on the mat, she launches herself at me, and I feel nails scratching at my arms. I'm unprepared, and we roll onto the hard ground, both desperately trying to be the one on top. Glimmer pulls at my hair, and digs her nails deeper into my skin.

Determined not to be beaten, I kick out and try to wiggle around until the grip on my arms have loosened. My opponent lets go for an instant, and I jump on the chance. I quickly leap on her, ignoring her attempts to pull out clumps of my hair, which has come undone from its braid. I hold Glimmer down for a few seconds, and when I begin to think that I can't go on any longer, the shrill sound of the whistle ends the match.

We both stand up with as much dignity as we can muster. I wish that Glimmer had waited for me to actually get on the mat before attacking…tomorrow I will definitely have bruises from my limbs slamming on the hard floor. I quickly tie my hair into a makeshift ponytail, finger-combing my tangled hair and clenching my teeth as an entire strand of hair comes out. Glimmer used her nails for much of the match, but strangely, I only have a few scratches.

The blonde girl is also fiddling with her hair and checking for any scratches. As if she even has any. I didn't even use my nails much, although I was perfectly capable of it.

Marvel is frowning at Glimmer's complaints about her arms hurting, and he sends a look of hostility towards me. Honestly, I should be the one sending dirty looks towards _them_. I rub my arms again.

"Hey, are you okay?" Peeta asks, eyeing the crescent shaped impressions on my arms. I nod.

"Well, it's my turn now. Wish me luck." He continues. I nod again and turn and see Cato snickering with Clove, probably about Glimmer and me.

"Next, Cato and Peeta!" The instructor calls over the complaining of Glimmer and Marvel. Peeta wipes his palms on his training uniform, and steps onto the mat. Cato takes longer, cracking his knuckles and neck before joining Peeta.

_C'mon Peeta…show him that he can't always win. Come on already…_

Peeta dashes towards Cato, apparently hoping to surprise the muscular blonde. But Cato is ready. The match, like Cloves, lasts only a few seconds. Cato has Peeta in a headlock before he has a chance to strike. The whistle blows, and Peeta rises shakily as Cato strides off the mat.

The other Careers immediately start congratulating the leader of their future alliance. Glimmer's squeal can be heard above the others.

"That was amazing! You're totally going to win this year." I look at Peeta in confusion. There is no jealousy or sadness in the statement, apparently the Careers believe that Cato will be the only one coming out of the arena.

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><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

I smirk, it had been too easy. The boy should've expected my next action. If you hurtle towards someone like that, they'll obviously fight back. I accept the congratulations from the others. I feel eyes upon my back, and I lift my eyes to the balcony where Seneca Crane sits. But it is empty. The eyes are coming from the pair from District 12, the girl's eyes are stormy as she looks at me. I turn back towards Clove, Glimmer, and Marvel, unconcerned.

Three short blasts from a whistle restores control in the room, as well as announcing the time. It is time for lunch.

The underfed tributes from the poorer districts quickly hustle towards the lunch hall, a fancy room with obsidian tables and a marble floor. The Careers look towards me expectantly, and I savor the moment.

"Let's eat!" I hoot, leading the group into the hall. Steaming trays of food sit on silver carts spread around the room. I waste no time, and quickly load my plate with food. I choose the center table to sit at, and grin as the others join me.

There is movement that I pick up out of the corner of my eye, and I see the District 12 girl and boy walk in the lunch hall. Katniss and Peeta are they're names, although I don't call them that. It seems too personal to call or even learn the names of the other tributes, when I will kill them in the not far-off future.

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><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

The food is still hot, but many trays have been nearly emptied by the wave of Careers that had washed over the carts. I only fill my plate with a loaf of bread, some meat, and greens. On the train, I got sick when I stuffed myself with the rich food. Although I have gotten used to it since I've arrived, I'm not too hungry.

Peeta also doesn't take much food, and walks towards a free table in the corner, intent on keeping as far from the Careers as possible. I am about to follow when I remember Haymitch's words from last night.

"_The Careers? They're trained to kill. But if you are part of the alliance, you have a better chance of survival. For the first few days at least. When the tension's too great, they'll start turning on each other." _

I turn on my heels and carry my plate towards the center table. With each step, I feel Peeta's questioning gaze on my back. He must be wondering why I would want to sit with the Careers. I decide to tell him later.

As I approach the table, more people turn to stare. Little Rue, from District 11, fixes her dark eyes on mine, confused at why I would want to eat with killing machines.

"Can I sit with you?" I ask. The words are aimed towards Cato, but Clove answers.

"Hmm…let's see…" She looks at her comrades and flashes a smug smile as their faces show what she is thinking. "No." There are snickers from Marvil and Glimmer, as well as the pair from 4.

"No, let her sit." Cato's loud voice drowns them all out. They stare at him in disbelief, before going back to their food with grumbles.

I pull up a chair from an unused table nearby, and scoot into a spot between Cato and Clove, who growls under her breath and sends me a dark look. But Cato let me sit, and that's what matters. I hold back a triumphant smile.


	4. Expectations

**Gosh, I think that I'm addicted to writing right now...I'm not sure if this is too soon to update, but oh well. Anyways, this is where it starts to get a bit AU-ish. Hope that this chapter's alright. :3**

_Oh yes, BTW, Cato looks like he does in the Hunger Games, as do all the other characters. _

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><p><strong>Katniss' POV.<strong>

"They're Careers, Katniss. You can't trust them…they'll kill you the first chance they get!" Peeta sounds annoyed and slightly angry. We are sitting in the living room of our floor, strategizing with Haymitch.

"I think that it was a wise choice, sweetheart." Our mentor sounds pleased. Peeta shoots a look at Haymitch, which says _yeah, thanks for directly contradicting me_.

"But you should be careful. Can't take too many chances…" Haymitch continues, taking a swig from his liquor bottle.

"Seriously, calm down, Peeta. I'm not officially part of their group yet. Cato just let me sit with them." I add my own point to the argument. True, Cato let me sit at his table this afternoon, but he hasn't said anything about inviting me to join his alliance.

"You have to show them that you're strong if you want to join them. Strong…" The mentor pauses and brings the bottle to his lips again. "Tomorrow I want you to use the bow and arrow in training."

Peeta and I both arch our eyebrows. Haymitch told me not to use the bow originally, this change of mind seems rather sudden. That, and I'm not sure if I even want to join the Careers. Sure, it would be nice to have someone backing you up, but as of today, not many of the Careers seem like they'd stay in the same room as me, let alone have my back.

"Do you think that we should join the Careers?" I ask. Peeta looks furious, the conversation is not going the way he planned.

"I guess. It'd be a lot easier to survive. You just need to get out of there before they start turnin' on you." Haymitch's words sound slurred, and the bottle in his hand is empty. I decide to end the discussion before things get nasty.

"Ok. Well, I'm going to bed. Goodnight." I pad into my room and close the door, the day's events still clear in my memory.

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><p><strong>Cato's POV.<strong>

"Screw you, Cato. Why the hell did you let her sit with us? She's weak. _Weak_." Clove glowers at me, fists balled at her sides.

Why _did_ I let her sit? I'd been thinking the very thing since lunch. Maybe because she didn't fight like a coward, like Glimmer did in the close combat match. Maybe…

I can't think of any more reasons. The more I think about it, the worse what I did sounds. And the first day of training…she'd been dreadful with that knife. She was weak. Clove was right.

"I don't know. I'll make sure that she knows that she's not part of the group tomorrow." I answer.

Clove seems satisfied. "You'd better. See you tomorrow."

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><p><strong>Katniss' POV.<strong>

"I don't want to be part of their- or should I say _your_ group. I don't want to become monsters like them." Peeta has been saying things like this ever since we left our floor.

I ignore his reasoning although it might be true. "Don't be ridiculous, Peeta. They're not all monsters. And do you really plan on just leaving me?"

"Well…no." He sighs. "Fine. I'll join if they invite me, but I _won't_ go asking for it." It's as close to agreement as I can get from him, so I nod.

When we get inside the Training Center, I go directly to the weapon selection and pick out a medium sized silver bow. It's not supple wood like the one at home, and the cold metal feels unfamiliar under my hands. The arrows are metal as well. Both are rather light, they must be hollow on the inside.

There are other bows, wood, plastic, materials that I've never seen. All of them have beautiful feathers on the arrows; straight, flawless feathers. But chances are that a metal bow will be the one in the arena, if there is one at all.

Still, I feel powerful with a bow, and I know that I can finally stand beside Cato and Clove and not be jealous of their abilities.

Peeta follows me, a spear clutched in one hand. I purposely shuffle as close to the Careers as possible. I can feel their eyes upon me and hear the snickers. Clove has a smirk on her face, clearly expecting me to fail. Cato is trying to maintain an uninterested mask, but he can't hold back an amused expression, and I can see the corners of his mouth turned up. The others watch, not even trying to hide their nasty grins.

_We'll see who's laughing after this. _

I take a deep breath and ready an arrow. I pull back the bowstring, and almost laugh at the way that Marvel's grin is fading and Clove's smirk falters. They clearly didn't even expect me to be able to even pull back the strong elastic.

The familiar calm that always appears when I hunt with Gale comes now, a welcome sensation. I look down the shaft of the arrow, my target is a bulls-eye 20 feet away; and let go.

Time seems to slow as the arrow slices through the air. It hits the bulls-eye with a light ringing sound.

"It was a lucky shot. Do. It. Again." Clove's quiet voice carries across the silent room, her eyes narrowed. The smirk has been replaced with a frown.

I let another arrow fly. Bulls-eye. Another arrow…another bulls-eye.

I turn and aim at a different target. And another. When my arrows run out, all the targets in sight have a silver arrow protruding from their centers.

Silence. Marvel and Glimmer's mouths are open, eyes flicking to the arrows lodged in the bulls-eyes. The pair from District 4 is staring, eyes wide. Clove actually looks speechless. Even Peeta looks surprised. And other the non-Careers? They're looking at me as if I had just grown antlers and was eating a knife.

I look at Cato last, afraid of what his reaction is. I could be invited into his alliance, or be labeled as a dangerous opponent.

He is still wearing that amused look from before, although he is past hiding it. He actually looks pleased. I swear that his next words are aimed towards Clove as well as me.

"Not bad, girl on fire. Not bad at all. You're in." There is nothing sarcastic or smug about the way he says it. He means it. I'm in…I'm in the alliance.

Clove growls under her breath, but in the quiet room, everyone hears her. "As you wish, Cato."

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><p><strong>Cato's POV.<strong>

She surprised everyone, even me. In other words, the girl isn't a complete and utter fail with weapons. If she has a bow, she might just be useful. I chew on a loaf of bread. They just pulled Marvel out for his private appointment with the Game makers. As I swallow, Glimmer is called. This is an important part of the Games. If you scored high…sponsors pay for parachutes to be sent into the arena. If you scored low? Well, good luck with that.

I'm determined to get the highest score. I can handle almost any weapon. The Game makers can't do anything but love my performance. Then I think of Katniss. It still seems strange to refer to her by name.

She's decent…alright, deadly; with a bow. And then there's Clove, with her perfect aim. Luckily she can only use knives, spears are too heavy for her, and bows are out of the question.

When it is my turn, I nod at the encouraging comments from the remaining Careers. After this, I won't be seeing them until the day of the interviews. Not like I care.

I stand up and confidently stride through the double doors that connect the lunch hall and the training center. At the front of the huge room, a long table has been placed down. There are 12 Game makers sitting in chairs, bottles of water at every spot. I know that there are many more Game makers than this; perhaps these are the most important ones. Seneca Crane sits in the center, and looks up as I walk in.

"Cato Greene. District 2." My voice fills the room, stopping all conversations that the Game makers had started amongst themselves. They all turn their attention to me expectantly.

I choose a large knife that looks sharp enough to pierce the air itself, and position myself to throw it at a dummy on the other side of the room. I draw back my arm and throw. The knife hits the dummy in the place where a heart would have been.

There are whispers in the front of the room. I now pick up a spear with a gold shaft. My personal favorite weapon.

The spear is a blur of silver and gold as it arcs through the air, finally skewering the bulls-eye of a target more than twenty feet away. I grin, knowing that the Game makers are impressed.

But my time is running out. There is time to show what I can do with one more weapon. I eye a sword, and weigh it in my hands…perfect.

The dummy doesn't stand a chance. I imagine that it is an opponent, and before I know it, it is on the ground in pieces, chunks of rubber with wood on the inside scattered around my feet. I replace the sword on it's rack, but I don't bother retrieving the spear or knife…the Avoxes would take care of that.

"Thank you." I smirk, knowing that I did well.

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><p><strong>Katniss' POV.<strong>

"You did what?" Peeta asks as I recount my experience during the private appointment.

"I didn't mean to! I just lost control and-and…" I stammer. Now that I've calmed down, what I did seems exceptionally rash and idiotic.

"And you shot at a Game makers head!" Effie finishes for me, her voice rising. She looks horrified. "If you get a low score, blame yourself!"

"Well, I think that it was brave…although slightly stupid. What were their reactions?" Haymitch leans forward like a child eager to hear the ending of a story.

"They were surprised. One fell into a bowl of punch." I remember, smiling. Haymitch guffaws and pats me on the back.

Later, while Peeta and I are the only ones in the living room, he asks me.

"Why did you even want to join the Careers? Do you want to kill like they do?" His tone is accusing, and I lean back into the luxurious sofa, thinking.

"Or is it because of Cato? I've seen you looking at him during training. You like him, don't you?" Another accusation. Peeta seems very judgmental today.

"What? No! I just don't want to get killed. Seriously, what's your problem?" I practically yell back. Where in Panem did Peeta get _that _idea from? Gosh, can't I even study my opponents without being criticized? Seriously.

"Oh. Ok. Just checking." Peeta replies, taken aback. "No need to shout."

"Well then, I'm sorry, _I really don't know why I started shouting_." I answer, sarcasm dripping like honey from every syllable.

"And…I've seen you looking at Glimmer during training. You like her, don't you?" I imitate him, smirking as his cheeks redden.

"Shut up." He mutters, blushing furiously. I laugh at his sheepish expression. It's just like him to legitimately like the pretty blonde.

Peeta's face is still red and I'm still laughing when Effie hustles into the room. Haymitch follows. Both immediately sit down on the free couches and Effie flicks on the television. Oh…oh no. Our scores. My stomach turns and I clutch Effie's hand as the broadcast begins. I'd probably get a 2 or something.

Marvel…9. Glimmer…8. I'm surprised, apparently she is good with another weapon, the bow was perhaps new to her.

Cato…10. Clove…10. No surprise there. I imagine Cato, his smirk moving onto Clove's face as he realizes that she received the same score as he did.

7, 6, 4, Rue gets a 7, Thresh gets a 9. Then, Peeta's picture and name appear on the screen. 7. He lets out a whoop, and we congratulate him.

Then my picture appears, along with my flashing score. I think that they've made a mistake when I see it, and I rub my eyes. But it's still on the screen. Everyone is congratulating me, letting out squeaks of joy, cheering and patting me on the back, Cinna and the prep teams joined us soon after the scores started to be broadcasted, so the living room is practically full.

But as the screen fades to black and the emblem of the Capitol takes the place of my score, it still flashes in my mind.

Eleven.

Eleven.

Eleven.

Oh gosh...Cato's going to be furious.

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><p><strong>Hmmm? What do you think? Review please, your reviews are what motivates me to updatewrite, so keep that in mind. :)**


	5. Interviews

_The Games are approaching. :)_

_Not quite sure where this is going yet, but I hope to decide along the way. Thank you for the feedback, everyone._

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><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

_I'm going to kill her. After the fight at the Cornucopia, I'll get her._ That is, if she's still alive. And, if there's a bow, I'm going let one of the Careers snag it. Then she won't have a chance.

I pick up a glass vase and throw it at the wall. Then the remote for the stupidly complicated shower. Another vase joins the scattered glass shards on the marble floor. A red tint has washed over everything, making even my pillows look sinister. I reach towards them, ready to tear them into feather-filled shreds.

"Calm down, Cato. You're making a huge mess." Clove looks over her magazine, eyebrows arched. Her voice is calm, and for a second, I hate her for not caring. Not caring that a scrawny little girl from District 12 has gotten an 11. A damn 11.

I look down at the luminous stone floor, fists clenched, and lean on the wall as the red tint slowly fades. When my breathing has slowed, I straighten up and fall backwards into the luxurious mattress, making the springs creak in protest. Clove puts down her magazine and draws her knees to her chin. She is quiet, but when I glance over, her amber eyes are smoldering. Of course, Clove's angry too, although she might not show it.

"You really should learn how to control your anger. It's your greatest weakness." She frowns. For a second, Clove reaches her hand towards my hair, as if to touch it. But I growl under my breath, and she pulls it back quickly.

She doesn't understand the full extent of my infuriation._ I should have been the one with the 11. Me._ I can imagine the people back home, laughing at me. Cato, the one who was always the best in training, he was beaten by a rat from District 12. How she got that score, I don't know. Probably flirted with a Game maker or did something completely reckless. The Game makers like attitude, so I decide to go with the first option.

There is a knock on the door, and a dark-skinned Avox appears. Her eyes widen at the mess, and she leaves, probably to retrieve a dustpan. The person who knocked is our Capitol escort, Ellaena Huckenburri. She is dressed in a retina-burning neon green suit, and I train my eyes on the plasma ceiling as to not be blinded.

"Enobaria's waiting for you in the sitting room, Cato." Her high-pitched voice reminds me of the squeak of a mouse. "And Clove, meet me outside in a minute."

I sit up and groan. Clove lets out a small sigh as well, and I know that she's thinking what I am. Four long hours with each of them today. Then tomorrow's the interview. The day after tomorrow…the Games.

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><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

"Can I open my eyes?" I ask.

"Yes," says Cinna. "Open them."

The girl standing before me in the full-length mirror is a creature from another world. A place of beauty, jewels, somewhere where skin shimmers and eyes sparkle and lips are as full as a rose in bloom. When I blink, the long lashes framing my huge, dark eyes send off flashes of light. My hair has been piled up atop my beautiful face, and has been tied in place with a lovely red ribbon. A huge, full scarlet rose is pinned into the dark locks. The gold dust covering my flawless skin brings out the elegant patterns stenciled on to my arms.

But the dress, oh the dress…my eyes hungrily try to consume the shining red folds of silk and satin. Reflective gems decorate the bottom, sending off beautiful flashes of gold. The dress is sleeveless, but is gathered at my left shoulder. A trail of golden gems have been pressed onto my skin, running up one and arm continuing onto my back. It is beautiful…and I never want to forget about it.

"Oh Cinna," I whisper, my eyes still wide. "Thank you."

When the prep team has finished admiring Cinna's masterpiece and leave, I turn to him.

"I don't know what to say or do…what if they don't like me? Haymitch says that I'm as lovable as a dead slug." I try to keep the tremble out of my voice. We had tried to find a suitable angle for my interview yesterday. But nothing worked…I'm not sweet, sexy, witty, or even friendly.

"Just be yourself. When you're answering the questions, look for me in the audience. Pretend that you're talking to me." Cinna smiles and gently straightens the rose. "Now go out there and wow them."

I clutch Cinna's hand, not wanting to let go as he escorts me into the hallway, where Peeta is waiting with Haymitch and Effie. They stare at me, and I notice that they've all fancied up for the interviews.

"That's a…very nice dress, Katniss." Peeta says. Effie is nodding in agreement. Peeta is dressed in a smart suit with flame accents. He looks good, but I don't know how to compliment him without sounding awkward.

"Thanks Peeta, although I bet that you'll forget about me once you see Glimmer." I grin as Peeta blushes and mutters something under his breath. Too soon, we are herded into the elevator, and the butterflies resume their fluttering in my stomach.

"Remember, they already love you." Cinna raises his voice as the elevator doors begin to close. "Just be yourself."

When the doors open, the other tributes are being lined up for the stage. All twenty-four of us sit in the back row in a huge arc. It is too dark to properly admire the work of the stylists, so we will have to wait until a tribute takes the stage before catching a glimpse of their attire. I will be second to last, since the interviews are in district order, with the girl preceding the boy. It gives me time to think, but also means that I will have to sit through twenty-two interviews filled with wittiness and charm. The butterflies have thankfully stopped, although my heart is beating twice as fast.

The last lucky viewers enter the huge room, somehow finding empty seats among the colorful clothing of the Capitol's wealthiest citizens. Then Caesar Flickerman strolls onto the stage, a smile plastered on his face. The cameras have started rolling, and he stands in the middle of the stage as roaring applause fills the room.

"What is the most exciting event of the year?" He practically bounces on the balls of his feet and leans towards the audience.

"The Hunger Games, of course." He finishes, grinning. Laughter and applause fills the room as if Caesar had just make the funniest joke possible. I'm not too worried…the talk-show host always makes a few cheesy jokes before getting down to business.

Glimmer is the first to be interviewed, and I see her slip through a door at the back of the room. Moments later, she is gracefully shaking hands with Caesar on the stage. Her opaque gold dress shows off her body, her mentor seems to have had no trouble coming up with an angle for her- she is beautiful, sexy even, with her flowing blonde hair and emerald eyes.

I can see Marvel eyeing her as she answers the questions with confidence, sounding friendly and unafraid.

Clove's approach is devious and mysterious. She smiles darkly at the right moments and surprises us all when she laughs a tinkling laugh at the end, her pixie features lighting for a few seconds.

And Cato commands attention when he strides onto the stage, sporting a silver tuxedo and smart black pants. His eyes are hard and icy, and he wears his signature smirk. Caesar greets him, and he sits down in the couch opposite the interviewer.

"So, Cato…are you excited for tomorrow? With this group of tributes, the Games will definitely be interesting."

"Yes, I am, actually." Cato's voice is cold.

"What do you think of the other tributes? Anyone special in there?" Caesar grins at the crowd, and whispers of "the girl from 1…" resound through the room. I turn and see Glimmer leaning forward in her seat, eyes bright and hopeful.

"Like you've said, it's an interesting mix…and no, I haven't taken a love interest, if that's what you're asking." Cato answers.

Caesar's grin falters. "Well, things could always change, eh?" Applause and laughter. "So, what do you think of the Capitol?"

"Hmm…the architecture is very nice, and the food is decent, I must say. But the weapon selection is excellent." Cato says. A rare smile flashes on his face, but disappears just as fast.

"Indeed. Indeed. We've heard that you scored very high in training. How do you feel about the fact that another tribute got a even higher score?" Caesar asks, oblivious. He's hit on a sore subject.

Cato's eyes flash dangerously, and he turns his head to stare at me. "I think that…the Game makers may have mixed up our scores." He is dead serious, but the audience starts laughing, thinking it to be a joke. Even Caesar chuckles before asking the final question.

"Do you think that you can win this year?"

"Oh, definitely. I _know_ that I will be the victor of the 74th annual Hunger Games." The way that he says it, eyes stony and voice commanding, sends shivers down my back. Then the buzzer sounds, and the applause fills the air. Cato leaves the stage.

Ok. I was right. Cato hates me now, no doubt about it. With this and my upcoming interview in mind, I can't pay attention to the rest of the tributes properly, and Peeta has to elbow me when it is my turn. I stand up and walk into the door, and follow a staircase down until I see the entrance leading to the stage. I take several deep breaths before I step into the bright spotlights.

There is a collective gasp from the audience, and I know that they are examining my dress.

Caesar walks up to me, microphone in hand. "What a beautiful dress, Katniss." He looks towards the audience, and there are shouts, whistles, and cheers. I stand there frozen, like a deer caught in a trap.

I try to say something, but my throat seems to be locked in place as the cheers continue. My eyes scan the crowd, looking for someone familiar. Then I see him, Cinna.

"Don't compliment me, Cinna is the one who designed it. It's lovely, isn't it?" I pretend that Cinna is the only one in the room, and am relieved when my voice comes out steady and normal-sounding.

The cameras zoom in on Cinna, who smiles. There are more shouts and compliments from the crowd.

After getting over the initial shock, the rest of my interview is not bad. But the last question catches me off guard.

"Let's go back then, to the moment they called your sister's name at the reaping." Caesar seems to realize that this is more personal than any of his other inquiries. "And you volunteered. Can you tell us about her?"

I don't want to, but I'm afraid that I'll start crying if I don't say a word.

"Her name's Prim. She's only twelve, and I love her more than anything." The crowd is silent.

"And what did she say to you? After the reaping?" Caesar asks.

I swallow hard and try not seem weak. It would be so much easier to just make something up. But Cinna's knowing eyes prompt me to be honest. "She asked me to try really hard to win." The audience is frozen, and I see tears in more than a few pairs of eyes.

"And what did you say?" Caesar continues. My body goes rigid, and I want to just run off the stage instead of sitting here, unmoving.

My eyes move from Cinna's warm brown ones and instead search for the ice-blue eyes of Cato. Once I find them, I lock my gaze in to his. The next words are almost a whisper, but magnified by a microphone clipped to my dress, every syllable is heard.

"I swore I would." The buzzer sounds, and I shake hands with Caesar and hurry off the stage before I do something stupid, like cry.

Once back in my seat, I bury my face into my hands. _Don't cry. Don't cry. Katniss! Don't cry! _I repeat this over and over in my head until the threat of tears has passed. I lift my head and catch the last thirty seconds of Peeta's interview.

"Handsome lad like you, there must be some special girl. Come on, what's her name?" asks Caesar. You can see the audience's delighted expressions, they're loving this.

Peeta answers, and goes on about how he's had a crush on one girl. "But I'm pretty sure that she didn't know I was alive until the reaping."

"So here's what you do. You win, you go home. She can't turn you down then, eh?" Caesar encourages, genuine sympathy written across his powdered features.

"Winning…won't help in my case," says Peeta.

"Why ever not?" says Caesar, mystified.

I'm sure that he is referring to Glimmer at this point. He can't go home to her, and winning won't help. And the blush that lights his face makes me almost certain.

"Because…because…she came here with me." Yup. It's Glimmer. But my mouth, along with the audience's is open with shock. It's not like Peeta to just announce something like this in front of the whole of Panem. But when the cameras flick to my face, I'm confused. Shouldn't they be capturing Glimmer's reaction? Then the truth sinks in. _Me! He means me!_

I drop my eyes and look at the floor, and I silently curse Peeta in my mind. Clove's never going to forget about this. Neither are the others.

And when the excited roar of the audience shakes the room, I feel a particular set of cold blue eyes watching me with renewed interest.

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><p><em>Hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Please review and tell me what you're thinking about the story so far. I absolutely love reading them, although I might not reply. *hugs*<em>

_**Hey guys, I would appreciate it if you checked out my other fanfiction. It's about Finnick's year in the Hunger Games.** _


	6. Alliance

_**A/N: **Hello everyone! I hope that you're enjoying the story so far. It's going to get a little AU from here on...just a warning. I feel like this chapter was hard to write, I'm not good at thinking up deaths. xD_

_Anyways, please leave a review if you're liking this story, if it interests you at all. I admit it, I am a bit disappointed when only a few reviews come in. Ok, very disappointed..._

_And...I abandoned the 3rd person POV attempt. I just couldn't do it after 5 chapters of 1st person. :)_

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><p><em>:::<em>

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><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

20…19…18…

The ever-famous voice of Claudius Templesmith counts down the seconds. I am tense, already eyeing the excellent assortment of weapons scattered around the Cornucopia.

14…13…12…

I catch Clove's eye and grin wolfishly. She knows what to do. We'd gone through the plan last night.

9…8…7…

The girl will be allowed to stay in the alliance if she is useful. But one wrong move, and the little rat is good as dead. As are the others. Glimmer, Marvel, Narcissa, Howard, all the Careers are disposable. In the end, there is only one winner. And it's going to be me.

4…3…

I can feel the tension in my shoulders, waiting to be released.

2…1…"Let the 74th annual Hunger Games begin!"

I am already on the move, sprinting towards the huge metal object in the middle of the field. I snatch up a sword and skewer a tribute who was foolish enough to approach the weapons alone. As the boy crumples to the ground, a cannon sounds above the screams of pain, the victorious shouts, the clang of metal, the thud of bodies falling to the ground.

Tributes are dying everywhere, their corpses covered with blood, faces unrecognizable. There is danger at every corner, but not to me. Clove ducks under my arm and scoop up several knives, her small white teeth showing as she flashes a manic smile at me before speeding away.

I tuck two knives into my belt, throwing the third at a running figure. Like always, the knife finds its mark, and blood splatters onto the grass as the girl tribute from District 7 falls to the ground.

I examine the battlefield; Glimmer is splitting a dark-haired boy's skull, Marvel is wrestling on the ground with two weaker tributes, and Clove is pursuing a red-haired male who is too slow to dodge the knife that pierces his back.

There is the sound of metal scraping against the Cornucopia, and I turn to see Thresh's giant form lumbering away towards the rolling hills of wheat, several weapons clutched in his huge hands.

I growl in frustration and hurl a knife at the retreating figure. But Thresh is too far away, and the knife misses him by a few inches. It's not worth the chase, I'll kill him later.

More cannons sound, and I rush back into the midst of the bloodbath, not wanting to miss out on the fun. A red haze has once again clouded my vision, and I am a powerful lion amongst weak lambs. I destroy and break everything in my path, only veering away when a member of my alliance crosses in front of me. I see my own hands strangling a girl, pinning a boy to the ground, I feel my body slamming into tributes and sees my sword flashing as I ends their lives.

Finally, it is over. Bodies lay dead on the ground, the grass is slick with blood. The sticky red fluid is all over my clothes, arms, and face. But I don't care; I know that it is not mine.

Howard's body is among the fallen, a spear still clutched tightly in his hand. But Clove, Glimmer, Marvel, and Narcissa are still standing. Katniss is nowhere, and I feel a flash of annoyance. She was the one who wanted to be part of the alliance, after all. Then again, I'm not surprised that she ran from the initial fight.

"Take all the weapons that you can. Line your coats with knives if you want. " I smirk, directing the last part at Clove. I see Clove's tiny face lighting up with a dark joy. She actually takes me seriously, gathering knives and stuffing them into her coat.

Underneath a pile of backpacks is a silver bow with a quiver of arrows, and Glimmer picks them up, a satisfied smile on her face.

Upon Glimmer's request, we waste several precious minutes wiping the blood off of their skin and cleaning the weapons, and I am the first to stand, the front of my shirt wet with lake-water.

"Let's go." I growl. The others rise as well, and we are off, a fearless group led by a fearless leader.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

I crash through the branches of a small tree, ignoring the painful stitch in my side as I continue sprinting through the forest. Then I remember- I am supposed to be part of the alliance. I slow to a jog and groan, knowing what my crazed departure might mean to Cato. I don't even know if he still wants me in the group.

But my best shot at survival lies with the Careers, and I only have a knife and an annoyingly bright backpack with me. I decide to stop and wait for them to find me.

I quickly scale up a nearby tree, and perch on a thick branch. I do not wait long. After half an hour or so, there is the sound of footsteps against the ground, and the Career alliance bursts out of the brush, weapons in hand.

"Hey! Up here!" I call down. They look upwards, and Cato rolls his eyes.

"Get down here if you still want to join us, Lover Girl." He grins, and I try to send telepathic swears towards Peeta. _Making me desirable. _Yeah right. All he did was create another reason for the Careers to poke fun at me.

I jump to the ground, half-expecting to be killed on the spot. Cato pulls out a knife from his belt and reaches towards me. I gasp and close my eyes, hoping that my death will be quick.

But it never comes. Opening my eyes, I see Cato and Clove eyeing me strangely. Glimmer, Marvel, and the District 4 girl have already forged ahead.

"Relax, I'm just giving you a knife." Cato hands it to me, still looking at me like I'm crazy. I take it from him, not bothering to tell him that I already have one stored in my belt.

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

"I wonder where lover boy is. Probably going crazy looking for his one true love," I say. Katniss shoots me a look of annoyance.

"Shut up, Cato," she mumbles.

"Just saying," I smirk. Soon we catch up to the others, who have apparently adopted Marvel as temporary leader while I've been away.

"And we need should set up headquarters somewhere and leave someone in charge…" Marvel commands.

I clear my throat. "You were saying…?" Marvel turns and his face pales.

"Oh, sorry Cato. I was just-uh…telling the group what I think we should do," he stammers. I stride past him and take my place at the front of the alliance.

"You are such an idiot, Marvel." I growl. Marvel stays quiet as we break into a run.

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><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

It is dark when I see the smoke rising up into the air. It is a thin tendril of white, curling above the trees. We have been running for about hours now. I fell like my legs are about to fall off, but the others run with what seemed like never-ending energy. That, or they are just afraid to be left behind. Cato seems intent on hunting down the stragglers, the tributes who are out in the open.

No doubt whoever is sending the smoke into the sky is a straggler. It seems like no one else has noticed it yet…perhaps he or she will get away with it.

But of course, the odds are not in his or her favor. Cato lifts his head for a minute to survey our surroundings, and then his eyes are transfixed on the smoke. A precarious smile appears on his lips.

"I think that we've found one." He says simply, as if it was just a game of hide and seek. We all carefully follow him through the brush and trees until we can see the small fire in the clearing.

And beside it, a girl, slumped over…asleep. She certainly seems to be looking for her death. Cato pulls his sword out of its sheath and turns to us.

"I'll be the one to kill her." We nod in acknowledgement. Cato lets out a whoop, and bursts forward. Within seconds, the poor girl is surrounded on all sides. I despise myself for helping block off her escape, for helping the Careers kill off those who are weak.

The girl jerks awake at the sound of our scuffling feet. She sees Cato approaching, sword in hand. Then she stifles a scream as she realizes that there's no escape.

"Please! Please don't hurt me! I'll do anything! Anything! You can have all my stuff! Please!" She frantically scrambles onto the ground, pushing her bags towards us.

"No! Please! Noooo-" I gasp as her scream is cut off. There is the sound of flesh ripping as Cato skewers her with his sword and then a thump as the body falls in a bloody heap.

Clove starts laughing, and the other Careers join in. I'm the only one who stares at the remainder of the girl, petrified.

"Twelve down and eleven to go!" Glimmer shrieks, delighted. There is a round of appreciative hoots. I hold my tongue and refrain from pointing out that in the end, she will be among the dead.

"Check her for supplies." Cato wipes off his sword on the girl's bag, leaving a red smudge on the bright fabric. We find nothing useful.

"Alright, let's clear out so that they can collect the body before it starts stinking." He sounds bored, as if the only exciting part of the ordeal was when he killed the girl. We leave and start running again.

"Umm…shouldn't we have heard the cannon already?" I ask. Cato's eyes flick to my face.

"I'd say yes. Nothing to prevent them from going in immediately. "

"Unless she isn't dead." I argue.

"She's dead! I stuck her myself."

"Someone should go back. Make sure the job's done." Clove seems thoughtful, she probably wants to be the one who 'makes sure the job's done'.

"I said she's dead!"

"We're wasting time! I'll go finish her and let's move on!" The words are out of my mouth before I realize it.

"Do you seriously think that we're going to let you leave alone? You'll probably run away to look for Lover Boy," Clove snarls. I admit it, something like that had flashed through my mind.

"Clove, you go," Cato says. Even I know that Clove will never leave him. She's the one he trusts most here.

Clove grins and slips away. Seconds later, the cannon fires.

"Let's head back to the Cornucopia," she suggests when she rejoins us.

"We'll sleep for a few hours before getting the rest of them." Cato agrees.

We set off at a run again, this time back towards the lake. I think of Peeta, Rue, Thresh…they've all been classified as enemies, victims. And I'm part of the alliance that will kill them.

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><p><em>:::<em>

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><p><em><strong>AN: **So, what did you think? Once again, please leave a review if you liked it. The more reviews, the faster I update. :)_

_*Also, if you're up for some Finnick Odair goodness, please check out my other fanfiction, about Finnick and his district partner in the 65th annual Hunger Games. I'm feeling quite depressed with it right now, no one seems to have any interest in it at all. *sighs*_

_**As I'm updating this, I have 55 reviews. Thank you guys so much! Could you guys somehow get that up to 65 by tommorrow night? I'll update on Sunday/Monday if you do, and if not, I'll just update sometime later in the week. Love you! **_


	7. Dreaming

**A/N-Hmmm...I was going to hold this off til' Wednesday, just to stay with what I said about the 65 reviews. But you guys were only 2 off, and I was really happy nevertheless. So...a little early, but I hope that you don't mind. I tried to meet a lot of your requests...what do you think? :)**

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><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

_I am walking through a dark tunnel. There are other figures, hammers clutched in their dusty hand, faces lined with tiredness. The sound of ringing fills my ears as I pound my own hammer into the rocky walls, alongside another dusty figure. Suddenly, there is a rumbling, and a flash of light fills the tunnel. The ceiling begins to collapse, and I only have time to turn and run before the fire consumes me. Everything goes black._

_Now I am standing in the forest with Prim. A snare is beside us, a rabbit is trapped beneath the wood. I reach out to grab the rabbit, but Prim stops me. _

"_Katniss, don't hurt him!" She reaches through the bars of the trap and carefully pets it with one finger. _

_I walk to the next snare and let the rabbit inside out, sighing. I turn to check on Prim, but she is gone. _

I wake up with a start, breathing hard. I'm confused for a minute, why am I not in my bed next to Prim? Then I remember, I'm a tribute in the Hunger Games.

"God, can you just freakin' sleep already? You've been thrashing around all night." Cato's voice comes from my left, and I see that he is sitting up as well. The rising sun shines through his hair, making it look gold. What annoys me is that he actually looks slightly concerned. For a second, there's an urge to tell him about my nightmare, but I quickly dismiss the thought.

"I'm fine. Why aren't you asleep?" I ask.

He rolls his eyes. "I was keeping watch while you five were sleeping." Cato looks tired, but he still manages to maintain a smug look. He must have stayed up all night while we dozed off.

"I can take a shift, you should get some sleep," I offer. It's not like I'm going back to sleep after having _that _dream.

Cato hesitates for a moment.

"I won't run away, if that's what you're thinking." I answer his unspoken question.

"Fine," Cato finally replies. He lies down, using his backpack as a pillow. I notice that he is still clutching his sword.

…

An hour passes, and I'm still sitting there when Clove wakes up. She narrows her eyes, and looks around at her sleeping comrades.

"I didn't murder any of them in their sleep," I say, agitated. She's never going to trust me at this rate. Nor do I want her trust.

"I know you didn't. Cato would never let that happen." She hisses. I blink, I hadn't thought of it that way before, although I'm sure that Cato _would _defend one of the Careers if the time came. Well maybe…he would probably defend Clove but leave Marvel to die.

"Of course not," I answer. We are both silent for a moment. "Do you really think that Cato's going to win?"

"Why wouldn't he?" Clove says. She is leaning on one elbow, her dark hair cascading downwards.

The silence returns, and we both just stare at our surroundings for a few minutes. I am looking at a squirrel climb up a nearby tree in the forest when the other Careers start to stir.

"Is there any food?" I hear Narcissa speak for the first time, her voice is low and wispy. There are pieces of grass sticking out of her auburn-colored hair.

"There were whole bagfuls when we went to sleep." Glimmer frowns, and looks around, as if the big burlap bags could have hidden themselves.

"Did someone take them?" Marvel whispers, apparently afraid to wake Cato, who is still sleeping. He stares pointedly in my direction.

"Ask Cato. He probably hid them somewhere while we were sleeping." Clove snaps. Cato turns and opens his eyes at the sound of his name.

"Ask me what?" He groans and stretches, before sitting up.

"Where are the food bags?" I repeat.

"That sycamore tree over there. In the hollow," Cato says. I get up and walk towards the tree. The trunk is hollow, and the bags have been stuffed into it. I pull one of them out and bring it back to the group.

There are apples, loaves of bread, packages of dried meat, and a small bag of assorted dried fruit. We divide the food and quietly eat.

"Who's left?" Clove asks.

"Other than us? There's Lover Boy, both from 11, the girl from 5, and the boys from 10 and 3," Cato replies. He must have seen the faces projected into the sky while we were sleeping.

I wonder where Peeta is. He probably followed Haymitch's advice and tried to find a water source.

"Where do you think that they are?" Clove stands, and we all follow suit. Cato yawns and gets up last.

"Probably in the forest somewhere. We can take our time…they're not going anywhere." I notice that Clove is one of the only ones who Cato talks to without excessive smirking and eye-rolling.

We set off at a fast walk, Cato and Clove in the lead. I trail behind Glimmer, staring at the silver bow in her hand and the sheath of arrows slung over her shoulder.

If only I had the bow in my hands…I could take them all down, one by one. But would I?

_Damn. You've gotten attached to them. Idiot._

As if she's picked up on my thoughts, Clove drops back to walk with me. She's smaller than me, although not by much.

"Cato told me that I get to kill the girl from 11 and the boy from 10." She tells me, a look of glee appearing in her dark eyes.

"Good for you." I mutter sarcastically.

"I wanted the boy from 11 too, but Cato's already set on being the one to kill him."

"And why are you telling me this?"

"I don't know…maybe because he's letting me kill Lover Boy too…?" I look at her in disbelief. She grins in response.

"And let me guess, you asked for me too, but he wants to be the one to end my life." I wouldn't be surprised if I'm right.

"He didn't say anything about you," Clove replies. "But if you really want to know who going to be killing you, I can ask." I grit my teeth and continue walking.

Suddenly there is a flash of bright green to our left. It is the backpack of a tribute running, probably away from us. Cato veers towards the unlucky tribute, and we speed up to a run.

"I think that it's the boy from 10!" Clove trills as we catch up to the running figure.

Cato pulls a knife out from a pocket and prepares to throw.

"Cato! Don't you dare! He's mineeee!" Clove shrieks.

Cato rolls his eyes, but lowers his arm. "Surround him. Lover Girl and I will get the front; Glimmer and Marvel get the sides. Narcissa, get the back. And Clove…have fun."

He sprints ahead to block off the boy's escape route ahead, and I follow. I feel horrible for the District 10 boy, it must be terrifying to be hunted down like this. And I can't even imagine what Clove will do to him. She'll probably make the death slow and painful.

We get into our positions, and I can see the boy's eyes flick around, looking for an opening. He is clutching a long, serrated knife and is poised to strike.

He tries to run through an opening between Marvel and Glimmer. Marvel slams into him and pushes him back into the center. The boy seems to know that there is no escape now. He looks down at his knife, considering. In a moment of pure fear or insanity, he throws it into the air.

I watch it zoom downwards, spinning in the air, heading towards the back of our loose circle. Narcissa does not notice the knife cutting through the air, and a look of surprise appears on her face as the knife pelts her in the back. She falls, and immediately there is a cannon.

Now weaponless, the boy stares at us with huge, fear-filled eyes.

"This is going to be sooo fun. Should I kill you quickly or take my time?" Clove smiles as she advances towards the boy. "I think that I'll take my time."

The boy looks around the circle once more, and as his eyes meet mine quickly, I see what he is trying to convey. _Kill me now._

My hand flashes to my belt, where the two knives are stored. Clove has her jacket open, choosing a knife from the impressive array that lines the waterproof material.

"I think that I'll use this one. It's pretty, isn't it?" The small brunette says to no one in particular. She holds out a thin, long knife with jewels encrusted on the handle.

As she reaches out to grab the boy's neck, I throw my knife. The odds must have been in my favor, because the weapon finds its mark. The boy's grateful look is forever frozen in his eyes as he dies, like he wanted, quickly.

The cannon sounds, and everyone is staring at me. I realize what a foolish thing that was to do. Clove looks murderous, her tiny fists are clenched and her face starts to go red.

Then Cato starts chuckling. It's a real chuckle, not a fake, sarcastic one.

"Shut up Cato! Shut up shut up shut up!" Clove yells. She stalks up to me and is literally shaking with anger.

Cato is actually laughing now, and the others snicker, as if they can't seem to find what the source of amusement is.

"Damn you! Why the hell did you kill him?" Clove snarls. I back away, eyeing the weapon still clutched in her hand.

"You said that you wanted to take your time, and you are. Since you'll have to wait forever to kill him now," As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I regret them.

Now everyone is laughing, but Cato's laugh is the loudest. Clove narrows her eyes, and stares at me with hostility.

"Nice one, Lover Girl," Cato says when he stops laughing.

"I hate you." Clove growls. I'm not sure who she's more upset with, me or Cato. Judging by the look on her face, probably me.

"I get another one since she-" Clove points at me, "-killed him."

Cato smirks. He walks towards Narcissa and starts removing her backpack and the weapons in her belt before answering.

"Which one do you want?"

"The one that you want." Clove answers simply. Apparently they've been over this before. Cato's eyes darken.

"No," he frowns. Then a smug look replaces the frown. "Actually, sure. If you're still alive when I make my move."

"Deal," Clove says, although she doesn't look too happy. I have a feeling that they're either talking about Thresh or me. Hopefully the first option.

...

That night we camped in the forest, Cato insisted that we be ready to hunt down any more lone tributes.

Another nightmare racks my dreams, and I jerk awake. I lay there, eyes open.

Cato is keeping watch like last night, but another Career is also awake. Glimmer sits up and walks towards Cato, who is leaning against a tree, sword in hand.

"Hey Cato." Glimmer's voice sounds different, there's a layer of something added. In the twilight, her emerald eyes glitter.

"It's so nice that you're watching out for us," she coos softly. I see her take a step closer.

"What do you want, Glimmer?" Cato sounds annoyed, and he shifts his position.

"Oh, I was just thinking. If we've only got days left to live, why not enjoy them? If you know what I mean?" Glimmer says, moving closer to him. From my vantage point, I can only see her back, but Cato's face is in clear view.

"First of all, it's _you _that only has a few days to live. Second, do you really think that the children watching this would want to see that stuff?"

Glimmer leans in even closer, but Cato does not flinch. I feel a pang of…is it jealousy? No. It can't be jealousy. I refuse to believe that it is.

_You do not want to be Glimmer right now. You are not jealous. _Even as I think it, a tiny part of me hates her.

"You never said no…" The blonde girl says, almost purring. Cato smirks.

"Go back to sleep, and maybe it'll happen in your dreams." Cato snickers, standing up. Glimmer is pushed away, and I hear an indignant sound escape her lips.

"Maybe." She hisses.

I close my eyes.

Perhaps the remainder of the night I shared Glimmer's dream…that would be the only explanation of why Cato's piercing eyes and his smirk appear in my thoughts as I sleep.

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><p><strong>Review if you liked it please! The more reviews, the faster I update. Oh goodness...it would be lovely to get 100 reviews on this story. As if that'll ever happen. *daydreams* But please please please review. :D<strong>


	8. Warmth

**A/N-Thank you guys so much for the reviews! I never thought that I'd ever get 100...dawww, you are all so amazing. I had lots of trouble thinking up something for this chapter, but finally I decided to neglect my schoolwork and type this up today. :)**

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><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

The boom of a cannon wakes us. I scramble up, muscles tense. The others also have jumped up, weapons in hand.

"I hope it's Marvel." Cato remarks quietly. He is the only one who is still sitting calmly against the tree. I look around, and notice that Marvel is the only member of the alliance that isn't here.

"Where is he?" I ask. Everyone is looking at Cato, confused, although not upset.

"I sent him to track down the girl from 5."

"You could have sent me…" Clove mutters. She is still sulking about yesterday, and she glares pointedly at him.

"She had a pretty wicked knife with her. Perfect for throwing." He grins. Clove giggles.

"That's what I thought." She smirks. I realize what they're saying. Cato wanted Marvel out of his way, and this was the perfect opportunity. If Marvel killed the girl, good. If the girl killed him…well, wasn't that the entire point?

"You are soo evil." Glimmer purrs. It seems like she has not given up yet. "Just my type."

Cato rolls his eyes. "If you want, I can do something really evil and prearrange your death as well."

That shut her up.

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

"We need to leave. I want to get Lover Boy today." I get up and put my sword into my belt.

"What? Why him?" Katniss stares at me as she hoists her bag over her shoulders.

"Aww…Lover Girl doesn't want her boyfriend to be killed. How sweet." Clove, on the other hand, seems quite happy. She is packing everything into her rucksack.

"He's going to die sooner or later. I'd rather it be sooner," I reply, smirking. Katniss turns away and mutters something unintelligible.

"Do you think that he's in the forest? Or somewhere else?" Clove's voice is full of excitement. She can be so childish when she's happy.

"I don't know. We should split up to look," I reply. By splitting up, we have a greater chance of finding Lover Boy. The arena is huge, and he could be anywhere.

"Are you serious?" Clove's grin falters and she looks at me questioningly. She probably was hoping that I'd have her back, like always. Just like her to expect me to be with her all the time.

"Nooo…I was just joking," I answer sarcastically.

The three of them look at me, waiting for orders. I love the feeling of control, of them depending on me when I can easily kill them all.

"Clove, you're with Glimmer. Katniss will be with me."

"Wow Cato, thank you _so _much for actually referring to me by name." Katniss rolls her eyes.

"You should be thankful that he's with you." Clove hisses. "You probably won't even have a scratch on you when you get back."

"Shut up, Clove." I growl.

"You probably just chose her because you don't want Glimmer up your butt. Literally." Clove snickers as Glimmer gives a little gasp of shock.

"Shut up." I say again. Clove stops snickering, but a smirk is still on her face.

"For that, I'm not going to save him for you if we find him first." It's my turn to grin.

Clove narrows her eyes. "Cato, I swear, if you kill him before I get there…"

"You'll do what?" I smirk.

She crosses her arms and glares at me, a pout forming on her lips. Although she seems tough, Clove is still a little girl inside. I sigh, relenting.

"Fine. Whoever finds him will send up smoke. And if you don't get him, set up camp and continue searching tomorrow. We're not stopping until he's dead."

"Lovely plan." Clove is smiling again. "Let's go, Glimmer."

Clove dashes away into the bushes. Glimmer pauses for a moment before following.

"You know, Cato…it's not too late to change your mind."

"Let's go." I grab Katniss' arm and sprint out of the clearing in the opposite direction. When I look back, Glimmer is still standing there, mouth open in shock.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

"Hey, can you slow down a little?" I try to catch my breath as we run. Cato's been sprinting ever since we've left Glimmer and Clove.

His pace slows a tiny amount. I sigh.

"I mean, can you slow down _a lot_? You're running as if we're being chased by mutants." I take a few breaths as he drops back, now jogging.

"Clove can keep up," he smirks, as if it explained his irrational speed.

"Well I'm not Clove!" I snap.

"Of course not. I forgot who I was with." He replies quietly. I glance at him, and he actually seems serious.

"You care about Clove a lot, don't you?" I'm genuinely curious. He abruptly turns his head.

"Do I?"

"Not in that way. You look out for her like she's your little sister." He does. I've seen him give up what he wants and do what Clove wants when she starts getting upset. And she's the only one who he seems to trust.

"Maybe. She can be really annoying sometimes, but she's a good ally."

"And you'll just kill her if you're the last ones left?" I question.

"If that's what it takes to win." He replies stiffly. But the way that his fists clench ever so slightly, I can tell that it won't be so easy.

…

"It's getting dark," I say quietly. The past few hours we've been following the river, and looking around at the areas along the banks. Knowing that Peeta would most likely be somewhere near a water source, I had tried to convince Cato to turn back to the forest, but with no prevail.

I remember the conversation.

"_We should get back to the forest…" _

"_I'm not stupid…Lover Boy will be somewhere near water. He's definitely not near the lake, so this is our best chance." He replies._

"I'm aware." Cato keeps jogging. The sun went down half an hour ago, and it can't be long before the anthem starts and the projection is shown in the sky. We heard a cannon around noon, but there was no smoke in the sky, so Cato didn't seem too worried.

"Can we stop for the night?"

"God, you _really _aren't Clove. She'd want to keep going." He mutters. He seems to be tired as well, I can tell because he's talked normally to me for the past hour. No smirks or smug looks. I remember that he basically hasn't slept at all since we've been sent into the Arena. The past two nights he's been keeping watch.

"Starting to regret dragging me along now?" I raise an eyebrow.

"You're way better than Glimmer, at least." He pauses for a second. "Fine. We'll stop for tonight."

We find a small spot under a huge willow tree with graceful swaying branches. No sooner had we set down our bags, did the anthem start to play. I dart out from under the curtain of leaves and take a few steps forward to get a better view of the sky.

The seal of the Capitol is projected onto a hidden screen, and then comes the pictures.

Marvel and the girl from 5. That's all. The sky goes dark.

"Looks like she killed Marvel and then someone else got her after," I say.

We get back under the canopy of branches, and set out our sleeping bags.

"Shoot. We can't light a fire, or Clove will think that we've got Lover Boy. We only have one match anyways…" Cato says.

He slumps down against the tree, head down. He must really be exhausted.

"You do realize that no one in the arena will attack us, right? They're all too busy trying to stay alive."

Cato lifts his head, eyes reflecting the shafts of moonlight filtering through the swaying branches. "No one?"

"You really don't have to keep watch. Even if something does happen, we'll probably wake up before we get hurt."

"Probably? Relying on chance, aren't you?" Even as he questions me, he walks over to his sleeping bag.

"Just go to sleep, Cato." I roll my eyes and yawn, climbing into my own bag.

He doesn't answer, but I know that he is awake. I seem to be having trouble falling asleep myself. Gusts of icy wind whistle against the leaves, and the temperature seems to have dropped at least forty degrees.

Even as I snuggle into my sleeping bag, I feel the chill against my body.

Seems like the Game makers are trying to freeze us, because the temperature soon drops another ten degrees.

I start shivering involuntarily. Stupid sleeping bag. If only it was made of cotton or wool or something, not just this scratchy waterproof fabric.

As my teeth then start to knock together, Cato's voice comes from my left. "Stop shivering. It's getting annoying."

"S-sorry. It's just so c-cold." My teeth chatter, making a small clicking noise. I see my breath forming in the air, a white cloud of fog.

"It's because you're so skinny," Cato replies matter-of-factly. I lean up on my elbows and stare at him. He's sitting in his sleeping bag against the tree, a knife on the ground near him. He doesn't even look cold.

"They really must be desperate." He mutters to himself.

I curl up into a ball and try to wrap the thin fabric around me. Still, the cold seems to grip me.

I hear Cato sigh. "You can sleep next to me if you want." He finally says.

I poke my head out. "Really?"

"Do you want to freeze to death?" He sounds annoyed.

I scramble up and position my sleeping bag so that I'm leaning against the tree too, about a foot away from him. I can feel his body heat from here, and I resist the urge to move even closer. That would just be awkward.

"Aren't you cold at all?" I ask. He looks at me, amused.

"No." He grins.

"What's so funny?"

"The Capitol makes really nice padded sleeping bags." He replies, still grinning.

"Wait…your sleeping bag is padded?" I cry, indignant. I reach out to feel the dark material. But it's the same as my sleeping bag, thin and scratchy.

"I never said that it was." He snickers. "You should see the look on your face."

"Haha…very funny. Guess I'll be freezing to death after all." I reply dryly.

"Stupid Game makers. What the hell are they doing? Good that I'm not with Glimmer." He mutters to himself again, this time so quiet that I have to strain to hear it.

"W-what are you talking about?" I ask, confused. The shivering has started up again. I stare at a patch of moonlight as I wait for his answer.

"You can be so stupid sometimes. Isn't it obvious?"

"Umm…no?" I reply slowly. Is there something that I'm missing.

The temperature seems to lower even more in the short silence that follows.

"They're just going to keep lowering the temperature until I do what they want." He says quietly.

"W-what?"

Suddenly Cato's arm is around my shoulders, and he pulls me towards him. My heart pounds in my chest, and the sudden warmth is surprising. I start struggling, and his grip loosens immediately.

"What the hell are you doing?" I demand. I feel my cheeks going red.

"Trust me, I hate it too. Bet that the Capitol is loving it though." He replies scathingly.

As if in response, the temperature plummets downwards again, and the wind picks up.

"Fine. But don't you dare try to do anything to me." I try to put on my most serious voice as I scoot closer to him again.

"Actually, nevermind. I really don't care if you freeze." He smirks and moves away, blue eyes flashing.

"Seriously? You're horrible." I scowl.

A particularly cold gust of wind sweeps through the leaves of the willow tree, sending another round of shivers through my body.

"Persistent, aren't they?" He replies innocently.

"Like you said, they're just going to keep trying to freeze us until you do what they want." I say. In truth, I didn't really mind being so close to him. It made me feel safe.

I scoot towards him again, but this time he stays stationary. When there is only a few inches between us, I stop.

I can hear Cato snickering under his breath. I ignore him and try to take in the warmth radiating from his body.

"Looks like the Girl on Fire still needs to rely on others for warmth." He smirks.

I do not answer, because it's true.

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><p><strong>How was it? Lots of you guys asked for some fluff, and here it is. Not bad, eh? :D<strong>

**Anyways, the story is picking up a bit now... Please leave a review if you enjoyed reading, I absolutely love getting them, and they inspire me to update faster. **

_I'm probably being ridiculous, but would you guys be able to scrape up 150 in all by Friday? If you do, I'll update Friday/Saturday night. If not, see you next week!_


	9. Distortion

**A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews and what not. You're all awesome. Anyways, I promised that I would post this by tonight, so here you are. Not as fluffy, but I really didn't know how fluff would fit in while I'm trying to move the chapter along a bit. I promise, more fluff next chapter. :3**

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><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

"I told you that you could sleep _next _to me, not _on _me." Cato has been smirking about the fact that I fell asleep with my head on his shoulder ever since we've left the willow tree.

"I'm sorry, ok?" It wasn't like I meant to.

"I honestly doubt that you are." He snickers. I scowl and follow him along the river. We've been looking for the past one or two hours. Still no sign of Peeta.

"It was cold." I mutter lamely.

"I think that we've established that fact." He replies, still smirking.

I know that arguing won't help, so I stay quiet and concentrate on our surroundings. It's sunny out, and the pleasant chatter of mockingjays emits from the trees on either side of the river.

"They've found someone." Cato's voice interrupts the silence. He is looking at a thin plume of shaky smoke that is slowly rising up into the sky. He grabs my arm and dashes in the direction of the smoke.

The trees pass by in a blur, and colors blend into one. I try to keep up with Cato's frenzied sprint, but I get tired quickly.

"Hurry up, turtle," he calls over his shoulder. I have indeed fallen behind. I had thought that someone big like Cato wouldn't be able to run very fast, but I seem to be wrong. I stop with my hands on my knees, hoping that the cramp in my side will go away soon.

"I thought that you'd be able to run farther…" Cato smirks.

"I'm not Clove, so shut up." I snap as he opens his mouth to deliver another line. I can breathe more normally now, but my legs feel like jelly. Must be because Cato's been dragging me around for the past 2 days. I take a step forward, and they give out under me. I'm reduced to a quivering pile of limbs.

..

"Do I really have to do this?" Cato sighs and quickly swings me over his shoulder, as if I'm simply a sack of food or supplies.

"Let me down! Cato! Stop-it!" I try to wiggle out of his arms, but stop when he starts running again.

"I'm doing you a favor, so shut up."

I stop struggling and let myself go limp. I realize that this is probably the closest that I've ever been to Cato while awake. There's the scent of…is it perfume? No, it's cologne. I sniff his shirt, and sure enough, there's a hint of it in there. I don't know how he still smells so good when we've been running in an arena for the past few days. His stylist must have drenched him in it before he left.

"Are you _sniffing _me?" He sounds amused, and I quickly stop.

"No. I just got some dust in my nose." I lie. On the pretense of the excuse, I take in more sniffs of his cologne. It actually smells amazing.

"You are so weird." I can imagine him rolling his eyes. I wonder what I smell like to him. I washed all the perfume from the interviews off. I turn my head a bit to sniff my own shoulder. Thankfully, all I can detect is the fragrance of the earth…leaves and sticks.

We continue for a few minutes, his arms holding me in place, me growing slightly dizzy from watching the ground move backwards so quickly. Then we stop, and suddenly I am dumped onto the ground unceremoniously. Cato wipes nonexistent dirt off the shoulder where I had been, smirking. I stand up and try to muster up my remaining dignity.

"They're up ahead," he says. We break through a row of bush-like plants, and as we emerge through to the other side, I can smell the smoke.

A small pile of green wood is setting off the smoke. But it's what is besides it that makes me gasp.

Clove is sitting there calmly, a dark grin on her face and a large knife in her hand. Peeta is besides her, hands and feet tangled in a net-like contraption, and mouth gagged with what looks like a piece of ripped-up cloth. He frantically squirms when he sees me and Cato approach.

My hands fly to my mouth, and I am frozen in horror as Clove and Glimmer greets us.

"About time you got here. We found him this morning." She giggles. "Do I get to kill him now?" She looks at Cato expectantly, hands folded in a childish manner.

"She's been thinking of ways to cut him up since we sent up the smoke." Glimmer sends a dirty look towards Cato and completely ignores me.

"Go ahead. Do whatever." Cato sounds bored now, and he takes a spot beside Clove and pulls out his sword, waiting for her move.

Peeta squirms wildly again, and shouts something. It is muffled because of the gag, but I think he's calling my name.

I stumble forward just as Clove stands up with her knife in hand.

"Wait! Don't touch him!" I yell.

Clove turns to me, a malicious smirk on her face. Cato has arched an eyebrow.

"You're not going to take away another one of my kills, Fire Girl. Too bad for you, you're going to see Lover Boy die in front of you. Cato, can you hold her back?"

Cato rolls his eyes and steps towards me, creating a barrier between Clove and I with his arm. Clove grins and turns away from me to survey her victim.

"The mouth first, yes. Then the legs and arms. Ooo…I'll do that." The District 2 girl seems to be talking to herself. I watch her one-way discussion on what she'll do with Peeta, my eyes wide with fear.

Finally Clove seems to have decided what she wants to do. It's like a game to her, as if she's a chef slicing up a hunk of meat.

_Woah. No, don't think about that. Way too vivid. _I think that I'm going to throw up.

"Got any last words before I start?" Clove's hand darts forward and she removes the gag from Peeta's mouth.

"Katniss, RUN! RUE, DO IT NOW!"

We all stand there for a second, confused. But then there's the sound of buzzing from above, and the crack of a branch breaking. I look up to see a beehive falling towards us, its inhabitants already angrily swarming out.

"Tracker jackers?" Clove screams. She plunges her knife down into Peeta's thigh, and then quickly gathers her knives and runs. So they were tracker jackers…TRACKER JACKERS? I'd heard that one sting could kill you if you were unlucky.

"RUN!" Cato shouts, grabbing several of the bags. Glimmer starts screaming as the first tracker jackers hit the ground.

Clove sprints past us, several tracker jackers in tow. I can hear their angry buzzing and see the huge stinger that protrudes from their bodies.

Cato pushes past me and starts running towards the lake. A line of the mutant insects follows him.

Peeta, who is still tied up in the corner of the small clearing, is being helped by a small, dark figure. Rue?

I do not take time to ponder as I start running. A piercing pain appears in my knee, and I put on a burst of speed.

The sound of buzzing envelops me, but I can still hear agonized shrieks that pierce the air. Must be Glimmer. She'd been the slowest, and I had seen a whole army of tracker jackers dart towards her.

Then I remember…the bow is still with her. Without thinking, I rush back to the clearing as the swarm of tracker jackers leaves the blonde's once beautiful body. They seem to lazily ascend back into the trees, but I know better. They are looking for more victims.

Another sharp pain pierces my neck, and I feel the body of the insect scrape against my skin. I quickly run out to Glimmer's lumpy, distorted body.

_Don't throw up. Don't. _I am having trouble thinking, and everything starts to get a pink-ish tint. No, not the hallucinations…not yet. I have to get the bow.

Shaking my head to clear it a bit, I wrench the quiver out from under the oozing body and wince as I break off several of Glimmer's brittle fingers in order to get the bow.

The sound of buzzing approaches once more, it seems like the tracker jackers have noticed my presence. I stumble out of the clearing, unsure of which direction to go. Everything looks shiny and distorted. Only when I see the glint of a knife laying dormant on the ground am I able to distinguish which direction the lake is in.

I crash into trees and trip over rocks that were not there seconds ago and somehow make it to the central clearing.

_Oh look…a pink rabbit. And a deer with ten eyes. _

I only have time to stumble towards Clove before everything blacks out.

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

"…Cato. Cato. Cato? Cato! Cato! CATO!" I jerk up as my name is screamed. It seems like the hallucinations have passed, but there's still a strange tint to everything.

I turn to the source of the noise, groaning. Clove is staring at me with her observant dark eyes.

"Get her off of me!" She doesn't seem to have many stings…just a few on her arms. I think that I only have one on my wrist.

"What?" I realize that the lake is only inches away from my hands, and I scoop up the water and splash my face.

"She's too heavy, get her off of me." Clove repeats, sounding annoyed. She must be really weak if she can't even lift the skinny girl from 12.

"God, wait already!" I snarl. She can be so demanding.

I force myself to get up, even though I feel like crap. Katniss seems to have passed out on Clove, and is clutching a bow. Wait, a bow? Must have stolen it from Glimmer.

I stumble towards Clove, who is still staring at me expectantly. I quickly push Katniss off of her. She must really be out.

"Where's Glimmer?" I ask, examining the lump on my wrist.

"Dead. Why else would Fire Girl have been able to get the bow?" Clove snaps, getting up and crouching down beside the lake. She uses her cupped hands to scoop up water and dump it onto her own head.

"So it's down to us three now." My vision is hearing are back to normal, and I fall back onto the lush grass.

"We should kill her now. While she's unconscious. It'll be so easy." Clove says. "And chances are that she'll wake up and take us out with that bow."

Hmm…true. I sit up.

"Not yet. I want to give them a good show. Killing someone who's out is like killing a potato." What the hell did I just say? Potato? Where did that freakin' come from?

"Are you sure that you're okay? 'Cause that was the most idiotic thing that you've ever said." Clove snickers.

"Shut up." I growl. "I'll just take her bow and arrows, and she'll be helpless again."

I grab the bow from her hands and the quiver from her back and stuff them into my backpack.

"So…what'd you two do when I was with Glimmer?" Clove smirks. I have a feeling that she is thinking vulgar thoughts with that annoying mind of hers.

"Nothing, you idiot." I answer, annoyed.

"I didn't think so." She replies, clearly disappointed. _Is that so? Then explain to me why an eager look is in your eyes and a stupid smirk is on your face. _

"Glimmer was going on about you the whole time she was with me. Thank you, but I really don't need to hear about how 'hot' you are." Clove adds.

I grin and lightly punch her in the arm.

"Shut up Clove. You know that it's true."

"Did Yevon put some type of permanent gel in your hair or something? Why is it always so perfect-looking?" She suddenly says.

"What? No…why?" I answer. The District 2 stylist had sprayed no less than a bottle of the damn cologne on me before launch, but he hadn't done anything to my hair.

"Just wondering." She sounds jealous, and I turn to see her trying to untangle a knot in her own hair.

"She actually doesn't look that bad, considering that she's from the ghetto district." Clove smirks, shooting a glance at Katniss.

I flash my eyes to the skinny figure. I guess that she's kind-of attractive. But it's not like I'll ever admit it.

"Yeah, she's really quite attractive…" I smirk. Clove stares at me in disbelief.

"...in a non-existent way."

"Thank god, I thought that you were going crazy for a moment there." She sniggers.

_You were the one to bring it up._ I hold up three fingers and turn to her.

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

Clove seems confused and answers cautiously, as if there could possibly be a trick answer.

"Uh…three?"

I grin. "Good, because I thought that your eyesight was failing for a minute when you said that she wasn't bad looking."

Now it is she who punches me. I pretend that it hurt by rubbing my arm to make her feel good. But she still is glaring at me.

"That didn't hurt, did it?"

"Oww…I think that a bruise is coming on." I moan dramatically. She punches me again, this time harder.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

The first thing that I notice is that the bow and arrow aren't in my hands. I scramble up, and see Cato and Clove sitting around a fire. The sun is setting, giving everything a harsh orange glow. At least it isn't a blue or purple tint. I must have been unconscious for quite a while.

I stiffly get up and walk over to join them.

"Finally up, Fire Girl?" Clove rolls her eyes at my appearance. I sit down in the grass, cross legged.

"Where's the bow and arrow?"

Cato turns and grins wolfishly. "In the lake."

"You're kidding, right?" I bite my lip and stare at him.

"Nope."

"You suck, Cato." I growl. Clove is looking at me with amusement, the flickering flames reflected in her chocolate-colored eyes.

"Look who's talking." He replies, still smirking. Then his voice drops, although we both can still clearly hear it.

"There's a fire now. So the cold shouldn't be a problem."

For some reason, I feel heat rushing to my cheeks. I scowl at him, and Cato starts chuckling. Clove seems confused about what he's just said, but I have a feeling that she'll pick up really soon.

"_Obnoxious jerk._"I mutter to myself. Louder, I retort, "Screw you, Cato,"

His smug grin is slowly slipping into the crooked smile that had caused me to want to join the Careers.

"I'd like to see you try."

* * *

><p><strong>See? Not very fluffy, I know. There's always next chapter though... C:<strong>

**Please review if you liked it, even a few words would be lovely. Thank you all so much for all the nice comments...although I might not reply, I'm reading every single one of them. **

**I'm not going to set any goal this time, but the more reviews, the more pressure I feel to update. In other words, offer me a piece of cake and I'll do write an essay for you. Offer me some reviews, and I'll write a chapter for you. Hope I'll see you soon in my next update! **


	10. Deja Vu

**A/N: Ok, apparently most of you guys like fluff...a lot? I felt like writing today, so here's your fluffy chapter early. Have fun reading, darlings. **

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

Cato looks so much younger when he's sleeping. I can almost forget that he's a trained killer and believe that he's just a normal boy, watching him lay there.

Even Clove looks remotely innocent, her usual smirk replaced by a calm look. I stare at them, one a strong blonde with muscular features, one a small brunette with childish attributes. I wonder what their histories are. What were they like before they started training for the Hunger Games?

I can see a hint of the little boy that Cato used to be in his serene expression. Just a little boy. Once upon a time, he didn't have any worries other than who he was going to play with, what was for dinner, who his friends were.

Now he's become a powerful leader of a group of killers. That's what we are…killers. I never see regret in his icy eyes when he kills. Never is there hesitation, remorse, sadness. Nothing.

While I've been keeping watch, I've thought about so many things. Like who Cato really is. Clove is easy to understand, she's mischievous and loves to kill. But Cato? He can be so obnoxious and cold, but at other times, he can be caring and maybe…kind?

There is morning mist everywhere, leaving dewdrops on the blades of grass. I shift my weight, and stare at the two sleeping on the ground. It's hard to believe that only days ago, there had been 24 tributes, well and alive.

Who was left? There is us three, Peeta and Rue, Thresh, and the boy from 3. Only 7 in the arena.

Suddenly Cato opens his eyes. I quickly look away, not wanting to be caught staring, but he had already seen me.

"Were you watching us sleep? That's just weird." He smirks.

"Don't tell me that you didn't stare at anyone while you were keeping watch." I snap back.

"Fine. I won't then." He replies. Typical Cato.

"Let me guess…you want to hunt down Peeta again today."

"Actually, today we can rest." He replies, surprising me. "I think that I'll take a swim and get this damn cologne off me."

"No, don't." I quickly say without thinking. _Ugh, why did I just say that? Dammit. _

"You like it?" He smiles teasingly, sitting up.

"What? No! I just thought…um…" I panick and blurt out the first thing that comes to mind, "there might be sharks in the lake."

"Sharks are in the ocean, airhead." He answers. Then in a flash, he is next to me. He moves closer, and I feel my face begin to get red.

"Are you sure that it's not the cologne?" He is practically whispering in my ear now. The scent of it wraps around me. He's so close that I'm scared to move, lest do something I'll regret.

I can feel Cato's breath on my cheek, and out of the corner of my eye, I see his piercing blue eyes on my face.

"Your face is so red." He finally murmurs. More heat rushes to my face, and I look down at my hands, cursing him and his good looking face mentally.

"Is it because of me? Hmm?" Cato smirks and I feel the tip of his nose brush against my ear.

"No, it's just really warm right now." I duck away from him and his cologne.

"You are such a bad liar. Fine, I'll keep it on." He chuckles, and then turns to the supplies. I breathe a sigh of relief…that was too close for comfort.

Clove seems to be still sleeping. I decide to ask Cato some questions that I've wondered about during my watch. He looks like he's in a good mood, and this might be one of the only times that I can talk to him without Clove's sarcastic comments.

"You volunteered, didn't you?" I don't know how to start, so I ask a question with an obvious answer.

_Why am I such a freaking idiot around him?_

"Didn't you watch the reaping recaps?" His replies. Obviously…

"Uh so…why?"

Cato's back is still turned to me. "Why did you volunteer for your sister?" I clench my fists. Can't he just give me a straight answer for once?

"Because she's my _sister_!" I hiss.

"I've been training for 10 years. Everyday. After school on weekdays, all day on weekends." He answers. Still no annoyance or smugness in his voice…he must _really _be in a good mood.

"Oh. So no one else trained as much as you did?" I already knew that the Careers trained before reapings and volunteered, but I hadn't thought that it was that tedious. No wonder why Cato and Clove are both so good at killing.

"Don't be ridiculous. There are plenty others." He scoffs, rearranging the food sacks.

"Then why were you the one to volunteer?" I ask again. This conversation is going around in circles.

"District 2 likes to have their victors," is his simple reply. So he was chosen to volunteer. To win the Games and bring honor to his district.

"Which is why no one volunteered for me. They knew that I would do the best job. " Clove's voice come from the ground. She's smirking at us.

"Say whatever you'd like to make yourself feel better, Clove." Cato says, back still turned.

"Very well then." She addresses me. "Fire Girl, did you know that Cato always used to-" She is cut off when Cato claps his hand over her mouth.

"If you say anything more, I'll break your arm." He growls. But his face is slightly red. It must have been quite an embarrassing subject.

Once Cato removes his hand, Clove starts laughing hysterically. I wonder for a moment whether she's completely sane.

"Ha, that gets you every time, doesn't it?" She snickers. Cato's grip on her arm tightens, and she stops talking, but continues sniggering.

"Well there's the time that you…" Cato trails off and glances at Clove mischievously. She pales and her smirk falters for a moment.

"That's what I thought." Cato smirks, letting go of her arm.

They really are almost like siblings. Cato seems to have a good time when they're fooling around. And the cold look in his eyes melts a bit. I wonder how long they've known each other.

"So, Clove. How long have _you_ been training?" I ask, curious.

"Same as Cato. We trained together." She replies, smirking at me. Shouldn't she be able to use more weapons then? Cato's good with everything, but I've only ever seen her with her knives.

"Shame that you're only good with a knife." Cato seems to have picked up on what I'm thinking, and lightly shoves Clove good-naturedly.

"I don't need any of your fancy skills to kill someone. And I wasn't the one who stayed in the training center until midnight every night." She snorts, attempting to push Cato back.

"Shut up." He growls. I'm surprised. Midnight, every day? His life seemed to revolve around training.

"Anyways, what are we doing today? Can we kill somebody?" Clove's expression is of childish delight.

"No. I'm tired of running around." Cato sounds bored. "Maybe tomorrow."

Clove goes to the lake and fills her water bottle. "I don't want to just sit around."

"I was thinking that we could explore the area over there. Maybe we'll find District 11 somewhere. Who knows?" He gestures towards the rolling hills of golden grain to the west, the area that we haven't set foot in.

"That means that we're still running around." Clove frowns at him.

"And what happened to resting today?" I add.

Cato looks at us, amused.

"I changed my mind." Clove doesn't seem surprised at this, and I'm not too shocked myself. Cato's known for being unpredictable.

We eat a breakfast of bread and dried meat, and although it isn't too bad, I think of how much fresh meat I could get with a bow and arrow. Nevermind, Cato said that he threw them into the lake. Too bad for him, because now he won't be able to have any real food.

I doubt that he's ever tasted deer or rabbit. In that aristocratic district of his, they probably only have pork and beef and all that luxury meat.

I'm still bewildered at why they haven't killed me yet. They've had plenty of chances. We are so different. Back home, I hunted wild animals for food. But here, they hunt other children for survival. Or is it for fun?

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

"Ugh…this is so much worse than the forest." Clove whines, dragging her feet. I know what she means, this damn field has no shade whatsoever from the blaring sun. I sense that there is something sinister hidden in the waist-height grain, but I haven't said anything.

"Can we go back now? It's so hot out…" Even Katniss' bratty side has come out on our trek. She and Clove keep on complaining about the heat.

"Yeah, and there might be snakes and stuff in the grass." Clove looks at me hopefully.

But I shake my head and continue walking forward. Screw their whines. We're going to keep moving until it's dark.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

The golden hills of wheat and grass begin to look dangerous as night falls. Every rustling sound can no longer be categorized as a bird or rabbit in the brush, but the noise of the enemy.

Cato's been all tense and turns at every sound. I think that he's starting to regret not going back to the Cornucopia earlier, but it's too late now. We're probably pretty close to the edge of the arena, but from where we stand, the field seems to be infinite.

"Can we stop now? Please?" I hate how my voice has taken on a whiney edge, like a brat not getting what she wants.

I don't get an answer, but Cato and Clove both stop.

"Flatten all the grass around here and set up camp." He commands, setting down the bags. We do what he says and finally crawl into our sleeping bags, exhausted.

No one was killed today. The anthem comes and goes. Clove falls asleep immediately, but I'm awake. Cato keeps watch, as always. There's no fire, because we could accidently alight the whole field.

It's almost humorous when a steady breeze picks up, bringing rigid air with it. And I don't even mind when the temperature drops.

There's the sound of quiet chuckling in the dark, and I see Cato's shoulders shaking in the moonlight.

"What's so funny?" I whisper, although I already know.

"Oh, I was just thinking about two nights ago." He replies. Oh yes. Seems like the Game makers want a replay of that night. And they're using the same method too…some tricks never get old, do they?

Somehow Clove stays asleep as more icy gusts of wind rustles through the grass. But my teeth start to chatter. And Cato? Apparently he's immune to cold, so he still radiates heat. If only I were closer…it really was quite warm that night with him next to me.

_I must be crazy, _I think as I get up with my sleeping bag.

Cato watches me reproachfully as I sit down next to him. I pull my knees up to my chest.

"What are you doing?" He asks. I look over to see his blue eyes trained on me, brow furrowed.

"It's cold." I say, looking up at the stars in the dark indigo sky.

He smirks. "I think that we've established that fact." It's so déjà-vu that we both start grinning like idiots.

Even with our combined body heat, I am still cold. Cato has stopped grinning now, and just sits there, gaze fixed on a point in the starry horizon.

"I'm still cold." I say. He doesn't react, but I see his eyes flick to me for a moment.

"I'm not your personal heater." He retorts softly. Somehow I knew that he was going to say that.

_You're just trying to get warm. You're not trying to cuddle up to him. _I reprimand myself. But still, the little part of me that hated Glimmer that night seems to disagree.

"But I'll freeze…" I say, disappointed. I don't even know why I'm so set on this; I most likely can stand the cold.

"You're so annoying. Just go to sleep." Cato leans against the bags and crosses his arms. Then I have an idea…stupid as it may be, I know that it will work.

"I bet that Peeta gives better hugs than you. The one thing that he can beat you at." I say, as if it's not a big deal.

I see Cato stiffen beside me. _It's working. _And although I am prepared, I am not at the same time.

A few seconds after I've said it, Cato suddenly turns and grabs me up in both arms. I am practically sitting in his lap, head against his chest. He places his chin on my head and we stay like that for a minute.

I definitely know that my face is probably flushed red, but I don't care. _It's so warm…and I can hear his heartbeat. _

When he pushes me away, he is smirking.

"Still think that Lover Boy's a better hugger?" He looks at me coolly; face not even the slightest of reds. I have to take a few breaths before answering because my heart is pounding so quickly.

I imagine Gale and Prim and everyone across Panem watching us, but I don't care.

"No. I still think that he can beat you." I sniff. But inside, butterflies are fluttering in my stomach.

He stares at me for a moment, smirking. Then apparently his arrogance gets the better of him, and he sighs.

_You're just trying to get warm! You're not trying to cuddle up to him…_my conscience seems to scream. But I ignore it and breathe in the scent of his fancy cologne as he puts an arm around my shoulders to pull me into another enveloping embrace.

* * *

><p><strong>Haha...I stink at writing mushy stuff. And I seem to like the build-up the most, so I tend to hold back all the cuddling and stuff. But, since a lot of you luffles the fluffles, I packed it in a bit. Not too much, I hope? <strong>

**Please review if you liked this chapter, I really do love reading them. I also take many of your suggestions up, so feel free to make one! **

_If I get 300 reviews, I'll probably die from happiness. Nevermind, this story isn't good enough to deserve that many. *scolds herself for being ridiculous*_

_But if it ever does, I'll update the night it hits the mark. If not, see you guys later this week? :D_


	11. Girl on Fire

**You're all lovely people...90 reviews in under a day, that's freaking unbelievable. You all did your part, so I had to keep my promise, even if it means that I have to stay up until 11 pm writing this. Enjoy, my lovelies. :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

"I'm not hugging you again, so don't even try." I chuckle, nudging my body away from hers. "And you're still too skinny. You should eat more…maybe you wouldn't come to me every time that you're cold then."

Katniss stares at me with those owl eyes of hers. Even in the silver moonlight, I can clearly see the blush on her face.

I smirk. "You're face is red because of me this time, right?" She opens her mouth indignantly, but then closes it, her face reddening even more.

"Are you warm now?"

"Yeah. Thanks Cato," she mumbles.

"Don't thank me. Just tell me that I'm a better hugger than Lover Boy." I lean forward, waiting for the words.

"Cato Greene officially gives better hugs than Peeta Mellark." She says sarcastically. Then more quietly, "That sounds incredibly stupid."

"Says the person who came up with it all." I reply smugly, satisfied.

We are both quiet for a moment. The wind has died down, the Game makers seem to have fulfilled their purpose.

"Go to sleep now, Fire Girl." We're probably going to be moving around more when morning comes. Katniss climbs into her sleeping bag and stays silent.

The night is cool, and a gentle breeze rustles through the hills of grass. I clutch my sword, the familiar grip reminds me of my days in training. Every night I would be the last one left in the training center, slicing at imaginary enemies and throwing knives at targets that existed in my mind. No one else stayed, not even the training instructors. I was left in the dark, alone, but enthralled with weapons and my ability to handle them with ease.

I always slipped into the quiet house when I was done, hands bearing old and new scars. Then in the morning I would go to school. School…everyone must be watching me right now, the girls with their stupid fawning, the boys with their even more pathetic jealousy. Then there's my family, the family that raised me to be a victor. And a victor I will be.

My thoughts are interrupted by a sudden rustling to my left. I stand up, sword in hand. There is more rustling, and I turn my head to pinpoint the source of noise.

I quickly pull out a knife and throw, but once again, it misses the huge retreating figure by mere inches.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

I wake up as the sun rises up over the forest bordering the expanse of golden grasses. Clove is sharpening a knife with another one, and Cato is frowning.

"So District 11 was watching us the whole time?" Clove asks, moving her knife to catch the first rays of sunlight.

"Yes." Cato growls. "I was so close."

"I bet that if I was there, I would have gotten him." She replies. I almost snort in disbelief, if Cato couldn't get Thresh, no one can.

"Dammit. Now he knows that we're here. He probably is hiding now." He ignores her and continues muttering.

I get up and join them. For a moment, I meet eyes with Cato. He raises his eyebrows, and I look down at my hands.

"Let's get some breakfast. We're heading back to the forest." Cato rummages around in one of the food bags and tosses us a loaf of bread and an apple. He really is upset, I can tell by the way that he stares out at the trees in the distance as we chew quietly.

Suddenly Clove snaps her head towards me. A suspicious look lights in her eyes.

"You smell like Cato." She looks from me to him. He's still staring at the trees, but I know that he heard what she just said.

"What did you two do last night?" The way she says it, I know that she's imagining something bizarre.

"Nothing!" I quickly say.

"Proving that I was better than Lover Boy." Cato answers at the same time.

"Better in bed?" Clove smirks.

"No!" I defend myself. I knew that she would think that.

"No. Just a better hugger, as she put it."

"That's stupid…" Clove makes a face and glares at me.

"That's what she said." Cato smirks. Clove starts snickering as well, and even I can't hold back a smile. The way that he somehow fit that into a conversation that was supposed to veer away from that very subject is so ironic that it's funny.

Clove leaves it at that, thank goodness. I guess that she trusts Cato enough to believe almost anything that he tells her.

We finish breakfast and immediately set out towards the forest. Cato wasn't sure which direction we came from, so he decides to cut across the field to the trees bordering it.

After an hour, we enter the welcome shade of the forest. I feel so much less vulnerable here, with greenness and the sounds of nature everywhere.

I think that Cato may still be upset above not getting Thresh. His answers to Clove's sarcasm are unusually muffled in smugness and originality.

"Bet that Lover Boy isn't doing much right now. I nailed him in the thigh before the tracker jackers." Clove remarks as we jump over a small stream.

"Good for you." Cato replies quietly with only a bit of sarcasm.

"Are you still mad about Thresh? You're getting boring to talk to." Clove stares at him as we walk.

"What?" He seemed distracted, but now he quickly turns his head to look at us. "No."

After that, Cato answers both of us with an overload of sarcasm. But by the way that his eyes stay emotionless instead of the playful spark that used to appear with each smirk, I can tell that he's forcing each comeback.

Finally I get tired of the satirical comments and glare at them.

"You used to be arrogant and obnoxious. Now you're the opposite…you're obnoxious and arrogant." I snap.

They both stare at me for a moment, then Cato grins.

"So you _can _be witty, Fire Girl." He chuckles. Even Clove looks remotely impressed.

"What's _that _supposed to mean?" I punch him lightly in the arm, but he doesn't flinch. I'm the one who is left with stinging knuckles. I honestly think that there's not a pound of fat on him, it's probably all muscle and lean stuff.

"Was it supposed to mean anything?" He asks. Looks like he's back to normal now, still obnoxious as ever.

"You never give straight answers."

"You never ask good questions."

I scowl at him, although he's probably right. I wonder if all District 2's citizens are as annoying as this.

"Looks like Fire Girl brought some of her flames with her." He suddenly says. Then I notice…the forest has become deathly quiet. The whistles of the mockingjays have stopped, and even the constant knocking of woodpeckers has ceased.

The only thing that can be heard is a strange crackling noise. We all turn to see a wall of advancing fire moving towards us too quickly to be natural.

And when the first fireball comes shooting towards us, it is Cato who grabs our arms and runs in the opposite direction.

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

"GET TO THE LAKE!" I yell. More fireballs whiz past us, setting fire to the trees and underbrush around us. The heat of the flames is freaking real, not the stuff that was on Katniss' dress during the parade.

Dammit. Screw those Game makers and their crap. They must be bored to launch something like this right after a night of me entertaining them. Dammit.

We run in silence, hands pumping at our sides, too afraid to stop. I know that the agility training paid off when I leap over several burning logs and dodge a flaming branch. The flames lick at everything, transforming a once docile greenery to a harsh, acrid trap.

Only the sound of footsteps pounding behind me lets me know that Clove and Katniss are following.

Suddenly a huge tree falls directly in front of us, creating a fire-filled barrier. We are trapped, backing into the middle of the circle of fire. I can see the flames reflected in Clove's dark eyes, and Katniss looks around wildly for an opening.

"Shit." I mutter. "FOLLOW ME!" I spot a area with a patch of burning but not flaming branches.

I hurdle through them, shouldering aside the branches. Sparks fly up into my face, but it isn't important. We need escape.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

I'm following Cato and Clove blindly now, the smoke has gotten into my eyes, and I'm coughing at the fumes.

We jump over fallen trees and simultaneously dodge fireballs and flying debris. Nothing seems familiar in the fire, and it seems like Cato is having trouble determining which direction the lake is in.

Then I hear a scream. A little girl's scream. A scream that reminds me so much of Prim's that I stop and start dashing towards it. It must be Rue.

I make out Cato screaming at me to come back, but everything seems to go strangely mute until all I hear is my own pounding heartbeat and the screams that get louder every second.

Then I see them. Peeta and Rue. Rue's leg has been trapped under a small tree that has apparently fallen. The fire around them is closing in, and Peeta is desperately trying to lift the trunk of the tree and pull the little girl out from under it.

"Peeta!" I yell, running to them. I see the fear in their eyes…and the suspicion. They don't even trust me anymore.

But I still need to help them. I join Peeta in trying to lift the tree. It's no use, even with our combined strength, we can only lift it a few inches.

If only Cato was here!

"CATO! CATO! CATO!" I scream at the top of my lungs, hoping that he would come. Peeta roughly shoulders me and gives me a withering look.

"Don't call him here! He'll kill us!" The mistrust in his expression is evident, but I ignore him and keep on screaming.

"CATO! CATOOOO!"

Just as the towering wall of flames nears, he appears, face and hair sooty. But those cool blue eyes stay the same.

"Dammit! Why are you helping them!" Cato yells at me. But before I can even answer, he is already bending down, hands gripping the rough bark of the tree.

Muscles rippling, he lifts it enough for Peeta to grab Rue, who looks so scared that I want to just hold her in my arms like I would Prim. But then they are gone, Peeta swings her onto his back and quickly limps away.

"Let's go! Clove's already at the lake!" Cato calls, already running back in the direction he came from.

I quickly follow and try to follow his agile leaps and quick ducks.

Flying sparks and pieces of burning wood have granted me several small burns, but the fireball that suddenly hurls towards me grazes my leg, causing a sudden explosion of excruciating pain.

I yelp in pain, and Cato turns to me and rolls his eyes. Even the midst of danger he be annoying…

"I have to save you again, don't I?" He smirks, but he scoops me up and breaks through the last portion of the burning trees. We emerge into the meadow in the center of the arena, and Cato sprints the last few hundred meters to the lake, where Clove is.

He runs directly into the lake and drops me in the shallows with a splash, while he continues to push through the dark water. I sigh in relief as the cool water laps at my burns and soothes them a little.

After a few minutes, Cato swims back to the bank and falls onto the grass on his back, soaking wet. I stare at him while his chest heaves as he breathes heavily.

Still sitting in the foot-deep water, I use a finger to probe at the burn on the back of my thigh. Ouch…ahh…it's not too bad, but I know that the fireball burned away some of my skin, leaving a shallow but painful wound.

We all are quiet; Clove staring at the ring of flaming trees around the lake and the meadow, Cato on his back in the lush grass, me in the lake water.

Finally Cato sits up, still wet. He looks exhausted, and I imagine how hard it would be to successfully lead us out of the forest _and _help me with Rue, all without any sleep last night.

"Don't _ever _do anything like that again. Even the Fire Girl isn't immune to flames." He is dead serious, his eyes piercing into my own. I nod.

"I'm sorry…" I apologize feebly. He stares at me for a second, then falls back into the grass, silent.

"Why don't you call me Lover Girl anymore?" I ask. I know that it's probably the worst time to ask any questions, let alone something as insignificant as this, but I feel like I have to know.

"You've obviously never loved Lover Boy, so why would I?" is his reply.

"How do you know?" I demand.

He gives a quiet chuckle. His next words are only loud enough for me to hear.

"You can't love two people, Fire Girl."

* * *

><p><strong>There you go, darlings. Now I'll go sleep. xD<strong>

**Not much fluff, but the end I feel like I made up for it. Anyways, please review and tell me what you thought. I tried to include lots of your suggestions in this chapter, like Thresh watching them, a Cato's POV fluffy moment, Clove's reaction, etc. Keep on suggesting, and I'll try to fit those in too. **

_My lovely readers, you know what to do. You review and make me happy, and I'll write and make you happy. We'll see how fast I update... :D_


	12. Master of Disguise

**A/N: Darn. I was writing this story and then my computer shut down. Ugh...had to start over from scratch. Anyways, I'm currently on school vacation, so I decided to write this morning. I think that my daytime writing is worse than my nighttime writing, but with all the lovely reviews and requests to update, I just had to get this out of my system. Enjoy, darlings...all 300 of you lovely people. :)**

**And...I feel like an idiot, because I thought that "anon" was the same person posting reviews over and over again. I just figured out that it actually is short for "anonymous". **

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

"W-what do you mean?" Katniss stammers. Her face is turning an interesting shade of red. I know that I've hit the mark.

I can't hold back a smirk as I answer her.

"Hmm, I don't know. What do you want it to mean?" In the distance I can still see the fires raging throughout the forest, a furnace under a cool night sky.

"I don't love..." She chooses her words carefully, then pauses midsentence. Out of the corner of my eye I notice her studying my face.

"I never said that you did." I continue smirking. It's really quite amusing to mess around with girls. They always believe me, right up until the time when I reveal my true motives.

It is quiet for a minute. I can feel my wet shirt clinging to my chest. Katniss is still sitting in the water where I dropped her.

"…Peeta. I don't love Peeta." She finally whispers.

I am taken by surprise. I thought that she would say something different. Ah well. Her mentor must be furious right now, after setting up that whole star-crossed lovers front. It would have been a good idea if it'd actually worked. But for now, I'll just improvise and play along.

"I know that you don't."

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

Cato knew. He knew that I…_ No, you don't love him. You're just attracted to him. _

Yes, just attracted. Nothing else. That's what I tell myself, at least.

The pain from my burn is temporarily forgotten as I stare at him. Cato and his perfect hair, cold eyes, the smirk that is always there. He comes off as obnoxious, arrogant, cold. And then there's the other side to him. The side that makes my heart quicken every time he talks to me.

That other side shines through Cato's arrogant mask as I try to stand and fall back down as searing pain shoots through my leg.

Cato turns his head a bit, just in time to see me splash back into the water.

"Is it your burn?"

God, how does he always know? I bite my lip to keep from whimpering. It must be worse than I'd thought, but I can't show weakness.

"You shouldn't have helped them…I don't even know why I let them go." He sighs as he gets up and lifts me out of the lake and carries me onto the grass next to Clove. She doesn't even glance at us, it seems like she is transfixed by the dancing circle of flames around us.

"Is it bad?" He is actually serious for once. I notice that I'm not the only one who got burnt; Cato has a long blaze across his arm.

"No, it's fin-…OW!" I involuntarily jerk away from him as he lightly nudges my leg.

"Oh, it's fine?" He smirks at my scowl. I glare at his amused expression, it's _not _funny.

"It's not going to heal without some type of fancy Capitol medicine." He remarks. Stupid Cato…does he always have to be so obnoxious and state the obvious?

"Nooo…" I reply sarcastically. There is now a throbbing pain on the back of my thigh, and I wince every time the ground rubs against my burn.

"Damn, I must have rubbed off on you. You weren't this annoying when I first met you." Cato smirks. So he knows that he's annoying. I almost smile, but another surge of pain causes me to grit my teeth instead.

Maybe if Haymitch isn't drunk, he'll send something in. I look up at the dark sky hopefully.

"Haymitch? Could I get some medicine?"

Nothing. No silver parachute appears. But still I scan the horizon with eager eyes. After about a minute or two, Cato starts snickering.

"He must be either mad at you or drunk. I guess the first option." He says, still snickering at my futile attempt. Oh yeah. I just messed up the whole "star-crossed lovers" plan that Haymitch and Peeta thought out.

.

Before I can even reply, _he_ is staring up at the sky, a smirk still on his face.

"Enobaria. Can you send something in?"

In a matter of seconds, a silver object is gently floating down. A parachute with a "2" on it. Cato grabs it midair and opens the metal container. He pulls out a small tub of ointment. Hah…figures.

I continue scowling.

"Stop sulking. It's for you." He rolls his eyes, opening the cap to make sure that it is actually burn medicine. I look at him, eyes wide. For me? Why would he ask his mentor for something so expensive…for another tribute? And why would Enobaria send it in?

There is a note, and Cato quickly reads it, a grin appearing on his face. But before I have a chance to ask what it says, he crumples it up and throws it into the lake. It floats for a second before sinking down.

But he hands the ointment to me, and I take it with trembling hands, half-expecting him to pull it away. It really is burn medicine, I can smell the minty sharp fragrance that drifts from the substance in the tub.

I scoop some of the jelly-like stuff with a finger and spread it on my burn, sighing with relief as a cool sensation washes away most of the pain.

"Is that burn medicine? Could I have some?" Clove's voice is quiet and she seems like a little girl as she stares at the tub with large dark eyes.

"Yeah, here." I pass the container to her and watch as she applies it to a few burns on her hands and face.

After she is done, Cato says nothing. The burn on his arm must be bothering him, but he doesn't ask for or pick up the tub of medicine.

"Hey, do you want some?" Clove seems to have noticed as well, because she holds it out to him.

But Cato shakes his head.

"No, there isn't enough for three people. You two can use it."

I eye the angry red mark across his bicep, and grab his arm. He glances at me quizzically.

"Don't be ridiculous. That burn looks pretty bad. You need some too." I grab the ointment from Clove's outstretched hand and quickly apply some of the medicine onto Cato's burn.

I give a small smile as he visibly relaxes.

"That's cute." Clove mutters before turning away to stare at the flames again. She seems too tired to comment any more.

"You can let go of my arm now."

"Oh. Sorry." I quickly draw my hand back. Why am I always such a damn idiot near him?

He smirks and gets up.

"We're going to catch a cold with these wet clothes." Cato gathers some sticks from around the lake and makes a pile.

"Clove, give me a match." She takes one out from a small red box and hands it to him. He quickly lights a fire, and we all gather around it.

Suddenly Cato stands and starts tugging off his shirt.

"What are you doing?" I ask, I can feel my cheeks getting all red again.

"It'll dry faster this way." He rolls his eyes and pulls the black fabric over his head. I try to look away, but my eyes automatically stray to his chest and stomach.

No. _Don't stare at his abs. Don't. Don't. Don't. _

But I find myself greedily trying to gobble up the image of the tight muscles. I was right, Cato doesn't have a single ounce of fat on him. All I can see is rippling muscle and lean flesh.

"Quit staring, Fire Girl." He throws his shirt next to the fire and lays down again, arms behind his head.

"You would think that she hasn't ever seen a boy shirtless before." Clove snickers. I blush furiously. She is right in a way. I've seen Gale without a shirt during the hot days of summer, but nothing like this. Nothing like those perfectly sculpted abs.

"You must be quite popular with the girls, Cato." I speak with my eyes cast downwards at the ground, trying not to lift my head and stare.

"I guess." He mutters, sticking a blade of grass into his mouth.

"They flocked to him like moths to a light." Clove growls. "Annoying as hell."

Now I lift my eyes and stare at Cato's face. How many lips had he kissed? How many girls had he hugged?

"They always got in the way at school and training, always freaking asking him to take them out." Clove continues, her voice portraying the agitation that she felt.

"What did he say?" I ask quietly.

"No. To every one of them." She smirks.

"I didn't have time for them." Cato snaps, annoyed. "Now stop talking about me, Clove."

"Selfless as always, aren't you?" Clove retorts. "You never think of yourself. It's always someone else, isn't it?"

Cato sighs and closes his eyes, not answering.

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

Why did Clove have to bring that up? First she told the whole of Panem about how I dealt with girls, then she goes on to make me seem like a good person.

Then there's Katniss, who keeps on staring at my half-naked body with those grey eyes of hers. I should have expected it. Clove seems to be the only girl I know who is unfazed when I'm in this state.

I hope that someone else kills her before it gets down to the two of us. Eight years training together. Just my luck that she was chosen the year I volunteer.

It's harder to kill when you actually know the person. A stranger is a stranger, dead in seconds with no regrets. But when you've shared laughs, told them about yourself, well…it's more difficult to end their lives.

_What the heck are you thinking? You're getting soft. Stop. _

Some of the fires in the forest have died down, leaving behind a charred and broken landscape. Plumes of thick grey smoke float upwards into the starry sky. It is a crescent moon tonight. How many days have we been in the arena?

Six. Seven, counting today. Only a week, and 17 are already dead. Another few days and there should only be one person left. Me. And maybe someone else?

I remember Enobaria's note:

_"Nice acting, Cato. Keep it up. I wish that you'd chosen Clove instead of District 12, but knowing Clove, she'd never let you hit up on her. The Capitol is loving it, if you play your cards right, you both might get out alive. –Enobaria"_

Of course she knew that I was acting. Enobaria's known me since I was young. She knows that I wouldn't actually fall for someone that I will kill, let alone someone from such a lowly district. And it seems like Clove hasn't picked up on what I'm trying to do yet, which is good.

If Clove can't guess, that means that no one else can. I knew that masks would be useful here. And it just so happens that I'm a master of disguise.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

Cato is quiet. I wonder what he is thinking. Clove said that he was selfless. Now that I think of it, he is. Giving in to our requests, running to our rescues, staying up all night to keep watch, refusing the ointment so that we could use it. Selfless. Another trait that I can add to the list I've made in my mind.

Cato gets up and shrugs his shirt back on. For some reason, I feel a small pang of disappointment. _You did not want to stare at him all night. You did not. _That little part of my mind is still trying to reprimand me.

"I'll keep watch, you two can sleep." He says once he's fully clothed.

Clove abruptly turns her head and cocks it to one side. "No, I'll stay up. You look really tired."

So she can tell as well. Clove isn't so bad…once you get past the sarcasm and constant obnoxiousness.

"I'll be fine." Cato replies, watching as we spread out our sleeping bags.

"No you won't. Stop lying, Cato." She hisses back, sitting up and crossing her arms. Cato waits a few seconds, then relents.

"Just call me if you need anything." He lies down in the grass again, ignoring his sleeping bag. We're all still awake although it must be quite late already. Waiting for the anthem to play I guess.

I decide to lie on the grass instead of my sleeping bag as well. Choosing a spot next to Cato, I slowly lower myself, trying not to rub away any of the ointment on my leg.

"The sleeping bag was rubbing against my burn." I say somewhat truthfully as Cato looks at me strangely.

"Not like you'd want to sleep next to me anyways." He murmurs sarcastically, a smile playing on his lips.

"Of course not, I just happened to choose this spot." I reply with the same amount of sarcasm.

"And now I'm just happening to roll over in my sleep." He smirks and turns onto his side. My instincts tell me to move away, but I stay where I am. We are so close that I can see his blond eyelashes in the moonlight and the piercing blue eyes that they frame. There is still a faint trace of his cologne; most of it must have washed out when he was in the lake.

"You blush a lot, Fire Girl."

"And you smirk a lot, Cato."

His smile breaks into a grin.

"I've definitely rubbed off on you." Cato reaches out and tousles my hair gently _Oh my goodness. He touched me. He touched me. _I don't know why my heart is beating so fast just because he touched my hair, but it seems like it's about to jump out of my chest.

He seems to be thinking about something and moves his face a bit closer. My heart is going crazy, I feel like Cato can hear the pounding. I close my eyes, waiting, _hoping,_ for something.

But just then, the anthem starts playing, and we both sit up abruptly.

.

The seal is floating in the sky, but no images appear after it. No one was killed, although I bet that there's bound to be someone injured badly.

The sky goes dark, and we are about to lay back down, but just then, a famous voice booms out.

"Many congratulations to the seven remaining tributes." Claudius Templesmith starts. "There has been a rule change in the Games. Under the new rule, two tributes can be crowned if one is female and one is male."

It takes a few seconds to sink in. A rule change? Two victors? Cato and Clove seem to be confused as well. Claudius pauses for a moment, as if he knows that we're not getting it.

"I repeat, under the new rule, there can be two victors as long as one is female and one is male. Thank you." The Capitol's seal appears again, then fades.

The news sinks in. There can be two winners, two tributes that will live.

Before I can stop myself, I breathe, "Cato."

At the same time, Clove turns to the boy beside me, grinning. "Cato!"

Then we realize what we've just said. Clove glares at me with narrowed eyes. But I stare at Cato, waiting for what he will say.

Cato looks from my hopeful face to her eager one. This is the first time that I have seen him actually taken aback.

What he says next sums up the situation quite perfectly.

"Well, this is awkward."

* * *

><p><strong>I know...it's a horrible chapter, right? I should probably never write first thing in the morning again. Always at night. Yus, that'll work. <strong>

**Anyways, if you liked the chapter, please leave a suggestion, critique, or comment. I absolutely love reading them, and they always make me smile like a madwoman. :D And all my silent readers, let me know that you're still with me. Don't worry shy ones, I don't bite. Give me a shout sometime. **

_I'll definitely update sometime this weekend, but if you want a new (fluffy) chapter sooner...no, I shall not badger you guys for reviews, although I do have a number stuck in my obnoxious little head. I'll be looking forward to your wonderful feedback. :) _

_..._

_And if you wanna see Cato shirtless, look up "Alexander Ludwig shirtless" on Google Images. Go for the ones where he's actually posing, and I promise that you'll love Cato even more. xx_


	13. Gone by Morning

**A/N: Up 'til 11:30 tonight writing. C:**

**Alot of you were upset because Cato was acting, and then lots of you were wishing for Clove to go away already. And I know, I sort of messed up Katniss' character last chapter, and some of you were against that. Then there were the ones who REALLY wanted some nice fluff. So I tried to meet as many of your requests as possible. Hope that this chapter is alright. **

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Cato<strong>**:**

Ok, I probably brought this new rule on. Enobaria said that the Capitol liked the whole "Katniss and Cato" affair, but do they really like it _this much_?

"You're not even his district partner!" Clove yells at Katniss.

"So it's my fault to want to get out alive?" She retorts.

"Calm down, you two. There's plenty of me to go around." I smirk. But inside, I'm getting more and more confused.

"Not funny, Cato. Who are you going to choose?" Clove slaps me in the arm and then proceeds to glare at Katniss with renewed hostility.

Ok. Moment of truth. Clove, who may just be my best friend…or a strange girl that I've only met a few days ago. A girl that I had been so set on killing until that night under the willow. Since then, I guess that she's grown on me a bit. _A bit. _

The answer is so obvious, so blatantly laid out. Of course I should choose Clove. But I can't ignore Katniss' wide grey eyes, ever hopeful. She's so innocent that she can almost be cute at times.

But now that I have to choose between them, I see both of them in a different light. Clove, with her personality so similar to mine, a companion for almost a decade. Always up for some violence, never afraid to speak what she is thinking. Then there's Katniss. She can be so stubborn. But she's always trying to help other people. Lover Boy and the District 11 girl…that wasn't necessary. Then she insisted on getting some of that ointment onto my arm.

They are the only two girls I've met that I don't get bored with. And I have to choose? Damn it.

"We'll stay with the alliance for now. I'll decide later." I say, stalling for time. I think that I'll just wait until one of them is killed, or until it's just us three left.

"Ugh. The choice should be obvious, Cato." Clove snorts, turning her back to Katniss and me.

It _should_ be obvious. But it isn't.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

_Today you're not going to act like an idiot in front of Cato or Clove. You're going to act normally. _Before I open my eyes, I repeat these lines over and over in my head. I'm not going to be that crazy blushing girl again. I need to be strong…for everyone back home who's watching me right now.

I open my eyes and sit up. Cato is refilling water bottles by the lake, and Clove is sharpening knives.

"Finally up?" Clove remarks as I stand up. She tosses me a loaf of bread a little too forcefully. I know that she's still annoyed about last night.

"So we'll try to get District 3 today." Cato is saying. "Or we could try for Lover Boy and the girl."

Clove runs a finger over the flat of a blade. "Why not both?"

"We could if we split up. You can get District 3, and I'll get Lover Boy."

"What? That is so unfair! I want to get Lover Boy." Clove's face starts contorting into a scowl, and she stabs a knife into the ground.

"And where will I go if we split up?" I ask. Hopefully not with Clove. I have a feeling that she will have no trouble killing me if the need arose.

"She's _not _coming with me." The brunette sends me a dark look and continues slicing up the grass with her knives.

"Whoever has her gets to kill Lover Boy." Cato smirks offhandedly. Clove pauses and seems to be thinking it over.

"Nah. Not worth it."

"Thanks Clove. That makes me feel wonderful as an individual." I interject sarcastically. I've been sort of useless without a bow, but I can't really be _that _bad.

"Since you probably can't do much with that knife…" Cato looks at the small silver weapon in my belt. I agree with him, the knife hasn't been of much use.

He unzips his rucksack and pulls out…a bow and a quiver of arrows.

"I thought that you'd thrown them into the lake!" He hands them to me, and I run my hands over the bow fondly.

"Did I tell you that? Oops." He snickers. I check the quiver. There are 12 arrows, lovely silver arrows.

"And don't you even think about shooting one of us with that bow." Clove snaps at me. She glowers at Cato; she was probably against giving me the bow.

"I'm not going to shoot you!" I reply, annoyed. Did she really think that I would do something like that when either one of them could kill me just as fast?

"It's not too late to change your mind about having her with you. With that bow, it'll be quick." Cato grins at her teasingly.

"I don't want it to be _quick_." She scowls, packing up her knives.

I feel a new kind of power with this bow in my hands. I know that I can be useful, dangerous…deadly.

…

"Don't move." I whisper to Cato. He hasn't noticed it yet, but a large bird is roosting in a tree. He pauses midstep and gently puts his foot down at my words.

I silently string my bow and take cat-like steps closer to the bird. It seems to be sleeping, one leg is tucked into its stomach-feathers. It's too easy. The bird falls from the trees with a thump. I pick it up by the neck and pull out my arrow from the feathery body. Not my usual clean shot through the eye, but good enough.

"Lunch is served." I say, returning to where Cato is still standing. He looks at the bloody carcass in my hands, a look of disgust flashes over his face.

"I'm not eating _that. _We already have food." Oh yeah. He's probably never eaten stuff that someone actually hunted. District 2 is very wealthy in contrast to the other districts, so I guess that all his life, Cato's been having luxury meat. Pigs and cows and chickens raised to be slaughtered.

"It's meat. Take it or leave it." I snap. We're in the freaking Hunger Games, there's no room for pickiness.

"I'll just have the stuff in my backpack." He smirks. I should be the one smirking, it's his loss. Back home, I could probably trade a large fowl like this for a few loaves of nice bread, and maybe a few coins a piece of fruit.

I quickly pluck the bird and start a fire. As I roast the meat, Cato stares at me, chewing on a loaf of bread and a strip of dried meat that he pulls out from his bag.

"Don't tell me that this is the first time that you've shot something and ate it." He snickers. The way he says it makes me sound barbaric.

I don't want to answer, because I might endanger the people back home by implying that I've hunted before.

I change the subject. "Where do you think they are?" We haven't seen any signs of Peeta or Rue. But we see the charred remains of trees everywhere, although not as many as there should be. I have a feeling that the Game makers will have all the burned greenery gone by the end of the day.

"Definitely near a water source. Maybe in a cave, but not in the open." He replies. I remove the roasted bird from the fire. Normally I would eat it with some type of flavoring or herb added in, but I've found nothing of the sort in the arena.

"Are you sure that you don't want any?" I rip off a leg and offer it to him. Cato wrinkles his nose.

"No. I'm sure. Can you eat that while we walk?" He stomps out the fire and swings his backpack over a shoulder.

"Well you're not giving me much of a choice." I reply. I wrap the rest of the bird in a piece of cloth that I found in my backpack and eat the leg as we start walking.

"I wonder how Clove's doing." I say.

"Probably still looking."

"Yeah, we would probably hear screaming if she's found him." I smile at the thought. Clove would definitely try to have fun with District 3 when she found him.

"Yes, that's something to be expected." He smirks and pushes through a tangle of leaves.

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

_She really is damn good with that bow. _I think grudgingly as we step through a mess of branches. If she hadn't been in the alliance and had that bow, I would have made her a top-priority opponent. Luckily she _is _on my side. I doubt that she'll even think about shooting me with that thing.

Thank god she isn't acting like a blushing idiot today. I hate girls like that.

It seems like the bow has given her confidence…while she seemed so weak and powerless before, now I regard her as an equal. Well, _almost_ an equal.

"Cato, look!" Katniss suddenly says, stopping. I turn, expecting it to be another one of those filthy birds, but it's not.

A shred of black fabric is snagged on a branch, clearly ripped while the person had been trying to escape quickly.

"We're close." I rub the shred between my fingers while scanning our surroundings for more clues.

"There." Again it is Katniss who notices the…is it a sock? Yes, a sock is on the ground, covered with a black film of ash, about ten meters ahead.

We move with more caution now, it doesn't matter if they try to run, but I'd rather catch them by surprise.

We continue for a bit, every few yards finding something that leads us on. They must really be careless, they've basically laid out a trail for us to follow.

"Shhh…" Katniss suddenly whispers. She seems to be listening for something. Then I hear it, the sound of quiet talking coming from further ahead. I think that the stream is where they are, we'd veered off of it earlier to follow the trail.

"I'll get Lover Boy, you shoot the girl." I mutter. Katniss nods, although there is some doubt in her eyes.

I rush forward, pushing through the brambles near the stream. Katniss quickly follows. But the situation is not what I expected.

Both of them are clutching knives, posed to strike. They look like they've been ready for a while. We all stand there, motionless for a second. It's a trap.

In the split moment that it takes for my hand to grab a knife from my belt, Lover Boy throws his at us.

I think that he was aiming for me, but he clearly could not throw at a target, and the knife zips towards Katniss instead. She still seems to be confused and her bow is slack in her hands.

Lover Boy's look of determination changes to one of horror as he realizes what will happen next. The knife seems to sail through the air in slow motion, directed at Katniss' chest.

_Shit._

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

Peeta would do something like that? And Rue too, clutching a knife with a fierce expression on her face. I think of the gentle boy with the bread and I can't imagine him setting up a trap like this.

My eyes are concentrated on Peeta's face, questioning his motives. I see something silver zooming towards me, but I do not comprehend what it is.

.

Just then, Cato slams into me, pushing me to the ground. I turn my head in time to see a knife pierce his arm and the red substance that seems to spray into the air on impact. I realize what happened, and my hands tighten around my bow as I shakily rise.

"What are you doing? Shoot!" Cato yells as he falls. I string my bow and point it at Peeta, then Rue. But I can't. I can't shoot. The way that their faces reflect the horror that is definitely on my face…

"Shoot already!" Cato is wincing as he quickly pulls out the blade lodged in his bicep.

Peeta seems to come to his senses, and grabs Rue and starts hobbling away as fast as he can. I let go of my arrow, eyes closed. I don't want to see them die.

By the cry of pain that pierces the air, I know that I've hit the target. But when I open my eyes, I still see the escaping forms. My arrow is sticking out of Rue's shoulder. Not fatal, definitely painful.

"Give me that!" Cato suddenly yanks my bow from my hands and nearly rips my quiver while picking an arrow. He lifts the bow, pulling back the bowstring with his uninjured arm.

Peeta and Rue are still in shooting range, and Cato rushes forward, bow in hand. He lets go, and I watch the arrow sail through the air and…

Rue collapses with a faint thump, the arrow went through her back. Peeta looks back and his eyes widen. I watch as he kneels down beside the small body, uttering words that I cannot catch.

Cato drops the bow and dashes forward with a knife in hand- it is the one that Peeta threw at him, I can tell by the blood that still drips from the silver blade.

As the cannon fires, Peeta runs. At the same time, Cato throws the knife.

As soon as the knife is out of his hand, Cato is clutching at his wound, trying to hold back the blood that is trickling out of it. Oh…he threw with his injured arm. Peeta is out of sight before the knife hits the ground, and I can't help but feel relieved.

.

"Oh my god! Are you okay?" I burst out as Cato lets out a sigh of disappointment.

"It's fine." He replies, but more blood trickles down his sleeve and I notice his fingers tightening.

"Let's get out of here, I'll patch you up." I say, eyeing the blood-soaked shirt sleeve. We move further downstream, and stop at a patch of clover that spreads from the stream to the trees. Sunlight filters through the branches of an oak above us.

"Ok, let's stop here." I look through my bag for the cloth that still holds the remains of the bird as Cato sits down, wincing.

I find it and wet it in the stream.

"Uh, I might have to cut up your shirt." I say lamely. The wound is pretty high up on his bicep, almost at his shoulder.

"It'll be easier for me to just take it off." Cato manages to smirk as he takes off his bloodied shirt.

Ok then…

"I'm going to clean off some of the blood, okay?" I try to gently wipe his arm with the cloth. If only Prim or mother was here to tell me what to do…

When most of the blood other than the fresh blood seeping out of the cut is gone, I lean forward to take a closer look.

"It's bad, isn't it?" I bet that Cato's in pain, but his voice sounds remotely bored.

Actually, it's worse than I'd thought. The knife seems to have pierced through the muscle, not quite to the bone, but about half-way through. I rinse out the cloth and start wiping at the new blood.

"No…" I draw out the word. Cato sighs again and when I look up, he is rolling his eyes.

"You don't have to lie. I know that it's pretty bad."

"That knife was meant for me." I mutter, rummaging through my pack for bandages.

"No, he was trying to hit me. But he obviously couldn't throw." Cato snickers. I don't know how he can be so…_Cato-like…_even when he's hurt.

"If his aim was right, would it have hit you?" It's my fault for not moving out of the way that Cato got the knife, so I feel guilty.

"No." He says, then he pushes his pack towards me. "Bandages are in the front pocket."

I take out a bandage and wrap it around the wound, carefully. Cato doesn't make a sound, not even a whimper or hiss of pain, but instead just stares at my hands fumbling with the knot.

"Would the knife have killed me if you didn't jump in front of me?" I can't stop asking questions, I feel horrible about the whole situation. If only I had acted quicker and shot at Peeta before he threw the knife…

"Probably."

"Then why didn't you just let me die? You and Clove could win together then." I say.

"I don't know. It was the first thing that came to mind." He replies. I tie the bandage tightly and repack the bags.

"I'm sorry…about everything today." I say quietly.

"Clove was wrong. It was worth it." He replies, a small smile forming on his lips.

"What was?"

"Bringing you along."

My eyebrows furrow in confusion. Because of me, he was injured. How can that be "worth it?" I take his shirt and wash out the blood in the water.

"I got to see you use the bow." He continues. The answer is so simple, I check his face to see if he's being sarcastic.

"I'm not being sarcastic." Now a smug tone has crept into his voice.

"How-"

He pulls the still-wet shirt over his head.

"I know you better than you think, Katniss."

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

_We are in a meadow. Cato is smiling a real smile. The sun shines down upon us. Cato is laughing, and he grabs me up and spins me around. I laugh too as the warm breeze passes my face. Then we stop, and he is clutching me to his chest. I feel so safe, even though it's just the two of us in this seemingly endless meadow. I could stay like this forever. _

_Cato leans down and whispers something in my ear, but I cannot hear it above the twittering of a thousand mockingjays dancing in the sky. _

_Then he leans down and kisses my forehead. Even when he straightens up again, I can still feel the warmth of his lips on my face. _

_He hugs me again, and I grin with happiness._

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

She's shivering. It seems to be extra cold tonight, colder than both nights before when the Game makers attempted to freeze us to death. In her sleep, Katniss has been smiling at something that I cannot see, but even as the serene expression appears on her face, she is shaking with the cold. The wind even seems to be affecting me in a way. I've been coughing for the past hour or so as more gusts of the same icy wind pass by.

If the damn Game makers keep on lowering the temperature and sending these drafts, we'll definitely catch a cold or hypothermia. And I left my sleeping bag in the tree with the food, I thought that we'd be done with everything before dark.

I cough again and eye Katniss' slim figure in her sleeping bag. Even through the dark cloth, I can clearly see her body racking with shivers.

_Damn it. They'd better be satisfied with this. _

I scoop Katniss up, sleeping bag and all, and place her on my lap. _Ugh. _

Her head naturally falls onto my uninjured shoulder, and I notice the wind receding a bit. I adjust my position against the oak. She provides some body heat, but not much.

As I lean back my head to stare up at the cold night sky, Katniss stirs in my arms. She opens her grey eyes, and I see confusion flit over her features, deep confusion.

She turns her head a little to look into my face. Already I can see her slipping back into sleep.

"Is this a dream?" She whispers, snuggling into my chest. Normally she'd be off my lap and on the ground in an instant, but I put up with it since the Game makers will probably send in snow or something if I don't keep up this whole "love affair" thing.

"Yes. It's all a dream." I try to make my voice sound soothing. She relaxes at my words and her eyelids start closing.

"You'll forget everything by morning."

* * *

><p><strong>Ta-da! A longer chapter! (by two pages on Word) How was it? I think that I did a better job with Katniss this chapter, and I tried for some fluff? Eh...I didn't want Cato to get hurt, but it would be stupid if none of them were injured at all. And then Rue died. A little sad about that, but...<strong>

**Anyways, I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review, (even a little comment is fine) if you liked it? It would make me feel wonderful to know what my readers are thinking. **

_I might be able to update on Mon/Tues if I am motivated enough...I feel like the chapters are getting harder and harder to write. And I'll be back in school with homework and everything, since vacation is ending today. So motivate me if you would like an update soon, darlings? With your reviews? Love you all! :D_


	14. Set Fire to the Rain

**A/N: Oh my gosh. I think that my fingers are about to fall off. 4 hours of typing. 4 freakin' hours of typing, guys. (When I was supposed to be doing HW.) **

**And...is it weird that I'm sort-of kind-of in love with Cato? ;D**

**Lots of you were sad that Rue died, so I'm sorry. I was sad too, but it had to be done. **

**...**

**You'd better like this chapter, or else...no, just kidding. But I really do hope that you enjoy it. 12 damn pages in Microsoft Word. GAHHHH! **

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

Morning comes. The smell of approaching rain is everywhere, mixing with the leafy scent that seems to be trapped in Katniss' clothes, her hair, every quiet breath that makes her chest rise and fall.

For some reason I am transfixed, my eyes running over her calm, sleeping face, the fine strands of brown hair that twist together to form her braid that rests on her slender neck.

It's almost strange to think about how many times we've fallen asleep like this. Ah…nevermind. That sounds incredibly wrong.

I carefully lift her up and place her and the sleeping bag onto the grass beside me. My legs and arm have fallen asleep, and I rise to get the blood flowing again. I raise my arms in a stretch and pause as a sudden surge of pain runs through my right arm.

I almost snicker to myself as I realize that I've done exactly what I aimed to: I got the blood flowing. Quite well, it seems. I can feel the warm substance seeping out of the cut and through the bandage. It's not an unfamiliar feeling. It turns out that even in District 2, there are some damn idiots with worse aim than Lover Boy. That, and Enobaria and the other training instructors weren't exactly the type to hold back their blows while sparring.

But still, _damn. _It took eight years to build up that arm, and now it's probably wasted. Unless a sponsor sends in something insanely high-tech to fix up the muscle. And I doubt that Enobaria would allow them to fund it, when she knows that I can easily heal on my own in a gym.

So I sit there, watching the storm clouds roll in too quickly to be natural, blood starting to drip down my arm.

When a peal of thunder shakes the sky, Katniss finally jerks awake. She stares at the cloudy sky, then fixes those grey eyes on the scarlet beads rolling towards my hand.

"You're bleeding again."

"No…this is just sweat." I roll my eyes as she untangles herself from the sleeping bag and straightens her clothes. Her hair is a mess, and she quickly re-braids it.

"Can you untie your bandage?" She yawns, walking over to my pack to get a new piece of cloth.

"Sure. I'll just untie this tight knot with my one non-dominant hand." I smirk. Katniss shoots me a look of annoyance and bends down to do it herself. In the end, even she cannot undo the knot, and I hand her a knife to cut it.

"Did you spend any time at all at the knot-tying station?" I ask.

"And you did?"

I do not answer, but instead watch her forehead crease as she studies the wound. I twist my head to take a look as well. Whenever I move my arm, I can see the muscles moving through the slit in the flesh. It seems like it hasn't improved much, if not at all.

"Well, that's disgusting." She says, wiping off the excess blood.

"Thank you, that's very reassuring." I reply sarcastically. She glowers at me and slaps the new bandage on with unneeded force.

"Watch it, Fire Girl."

"I was watching it." She retorts.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

"So. Going for Peeta again, right?"

"No. We're heading back to the lake. Maybe we'll find Clove somewhere." Cato seems annoyingly sarcastic and overly smug today, and this might be the first sentence that he's uttered that isn't laced with sarcasm, although still accompanied with a smirk.

"I thought that you wanted to get him once and for all this time."

"It's not happening today. My arm is messed up, and you'd never be able to kill him on your own." Well…that's somewhat true. And although I believe that he can and will fight with his injured arm, the cut still looks pretty bad.

"Can't we just stay here and leave when your wound is better?" We're situated in a nice spot, and I don't want to leave the soft bed of clover.

"Nope."

_Why is he so damn cocky today? _I turn my back to him and his obnoxious smirk and pack up the bandages and sleeping bag.

Another roll of thunder sounds as I zip up the backpacks. I have to remind myself that it's not real. I wonder how the Game makers created the smell of rain in the arena. I imagine them sitting at their fancy desks, playing with the water-heavy clouds.

"Do you remember which way we came from?" Cato asks. I stare at his back as he surveys the area around us.

I find myself fantasizing.

_It was just a dream, Katniss. It doesn't mean that he actually would do any of that._

"I think that we lost track when we found the trail." I reply. We had been so absorbed in searching for the next clue at that time, that we hadn't really paid attention to direction.

"It doesn't matter. Let's just go." He slings his backpack over his shoulders, wincing as the strap rubs against his bandage.

We trudge through the underbrush just as the first drops of rain begin to fall. The rain steadily increases in intensity, and after half an hour, we are both drenched, and the sound of water droplets hitting leaves above us fills the air.

"I just love getting water into a cut." Cato mutters. His shirt is plastered to his body, and I can see the outlines of his muscles.

"Where's your jacket?" He's just wearing a short-sleeved t-shirt. I vaguely remember how cold it was last night, and wonder how he coped with it.

"I don't know. I lost it somewhere." I have to strain to see him shrug through the ropes of rain coming down. It is still early morning, but the sky is so dark that it seems like night is approaching.

"Let's wait under a tree for the rain to ease up." Without waiting for an answer, he grabs my arm and drags me under a huge sycamore that stops about eighty percent of the rain. The chilly air bites at my wet skin. Apparently the jackets are not as waterproof as I thought they were.

We lean against the trunk, painfully close. Hazy, sunny images from last night's dream keep on coming back to me, and I shake my head to clear it out.

"So…" Cato says. His eyes glint mischievously, and a smirk is breaking out on his lips.

"How did you sleep last night?" He continues leisurely. I almost cringe. He _can't _know about what I dreamed, can he?

Somehow I maintain a straight face, and to my benefit, my voice almost sounds bored when I answer.

"Good. How about you?"

"It was cold. But I warmed up after a while." He smirks. I still think that he knows more than he's letting on.

"But you didn't have your jacket?"

"I have other ways of staying warm." He answers in a way that makes me want to slap him for being so elusive.

Suddenly he swings around and pushes me against the tree, an arm on either side of my body. I am trapped, yet I do not feel threatened. There's just this odd fluttering sensation inside of me.

A smile is playing on his lips, and I study his face while he studies mine. A strong jaw line, narrow nose, hair that sticks up in the front, and _those eyes. _

I remember how I'd looked away when I had first met those sapphire-blue eyes during the tribute parade. Now I force myself to hold his gaze. It seems like some of the coldness has melted in them.

"Dream of anyone special?" He breathes, eyes still flicking over my face mischievously. I am too aware of the fact that his nose is nearly touching mine to answer immediately. Then my brain processes what he's said, and I force myself not to stiffen.

"I…" He can't know about it. Unless I said something in my sleep. And I know for a fact that I don't talk in my sleep. Maybe he's just asking for the sake of it? "No."

"No one?" He arches an eyebrow and leans in bit closer, smiling faintly.

"No…" I whisper. _He can't know._

Is that _disappointment _that flickers over his face? For a moment, Cato's eyes seem to lose some off their shine, and his shoulders sag a tiny bit. Then he is back to the smirking, confident person that he always is, as if nothing had ever happened.

"So you really did forget." He chuckles softly, a little bit of sadness mixed with amusement. What is he talking about?

Then Cato moves away from me, and the cold air hits me without his body being there to block it. He stares at the rain, which hasn't relented at all.

"What did I forget?" I ask.

"Nothing."

"You can't just bring that up and not tell me what you meant!" I say indignantly, scowling. He is still turned away from me, looking into the rain-laden greenery around us. I was right, the Game makers seem to have restored all of the burnt trees and grass. There is no sign that the fire ever had raged through the arena.

"I know that you're scowling. Don't. You look better with a smile." He murmurs, not looking at me.

"Like you care what I look like." I reply sarcastically. He's avoiding the question, which annoys me.

"Actually, you're not as bad-looking as I'd thought." Cato snickers.

"Thank you so much, Cato. I really don't know if I should take that as an insult or a compliment." I say, still scowling.

"It's a compliment."

"Is it? Well, you're not as good-looking as I had thought." _You're better. _But with his ego, he'll take it as an insult.

"So you thought that I was good-looking?" He asks. Or a compliment. I don't even know why I bother trying to guess what Cato will say next, he's completely unpredictable. Sometimes I get the expected response, sometimes I get something entirely different.

I give up and get right to the point.

"Are you going to tell me what I forgot?" I step towards Cato in my curiosity.

He turns around and catches my arm and pulls me towards him. I swear that he snickers when I try to struggle out of his grasp.

"Are you going to tell me what you dreamed about?" He mimics my tone, one hand still on my wrist. I glare at him, but he just smiles softly.

"Why do you care?" He definitely knows more than he's letting on.

.

"Because…" Cato suddenly wraps his arms around me from behind and rests his chin on my shoulder.

"Last night, you asked me if _this-_" He murmurs in my ear and tightens his grip a little. "-was a dream."

"Was it?" I whisper back, afraid of the answer. What if everything had really happened? What if in my half-asleep state, I had thought it to all be a dream?

"No. My legs were numb from you sitting on them this morning." He snorts. I can see his smirk from the corner of my eye.

"Oh. So that's all that happened?" I ask, mildly disappointed. He is still hugging me, and I can feel his wet skin rubbing against my supposedly waterproof jacket.

"Mhmm." I shiver involuntarily as he makes the soft sound of agreement. When he's not being sarcastic or obnoxious, Cato's voice is actually quite pleasant to listen to.

"What did you expect?" He laughs. I can feel his breath in my ear. I don't answer him, but stare down at his muscular arms. On his left arm is a faint scar that runs down the back of his hand.

"You must be cold, with all this rain." Cato lets go of me and pulls his wet shirt away from his chest. I am still staring at the scar, and notice another faint one on the wrist of his injured arm.

"What are you staring at?" He looks down. "Oh. These."

"Where'd you get all them?" I let my eyes travel up his arms, finding other fainter and fainter scars, barely noticeable, yet still there.

"Training."

"Were you _that _bad with weapons back then?" I arch an eyebrow.

"First of all, that's something that Clove would probably say. Second, none of them were from me." He snickers. I don't ask any more questions, because I have a feeling that the topic's drawn to a close, although I'm still curious about his past.

A gust of wind passes under the tree, and I cross my arms at an attempt to stay warm. But everything is wet, so there is really no point.

"Let's run. The rain's not going to stop anytime soon, and we have to find Clove. There's really no point in getting to the lake anymore." Cato says. He's acting like he never had hugged me, there seems to be nothing but determination in his eyes.

"Ok." I follow him out from under the tree into the drenching rain. It hasn't let up at all. Then again, this is an artificial storm, not a real one. It's not going to follow the patterns that other rainstorms follow.

The rumbling of thunder fills the sky, and we push through the falling water drops. I remember how I used to always hate it when it rained back in District 12. I would be stuck inside the house, unable to do anything.

It's funny how I don't mind the wetness all that much with Cato next to me.

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

I was hoping that they would stop the rain after all that "romantic" stuff, but looks like they intend to rain us out.

The leaves underfoot are wet, making it increasingly hard to keep from slipping. I catch my footing more than once, narrowly avoiding the ultimate humiliation of messing up in front of all of Panem.

We've never been in this part of the forest before. I think that we're moving away from the lake, not towards it. Maybe Clove's in this section.

We run silently. Katniss is keeping up, which is good. She's very light on her feet, and she barely makes a sound when she runs.

Fifteen minutes pass, and I slow down as the ground slopes downwards. I remember falling on my face when I ran down a hill a few years ago. No one dared laugh, except for Clove. She stood at the top with all the other trainees, laughing her head off while I got up with as much dignity as I could muster. She was still laughing when I stomped home to clean up.

Just then, a scream pierces the air. It is not a scream of terror or of pain. It is a scream of rage, although I can detect obvious delight in it. It is Clove's scream.

"She's found him."

I push through the leaves of a tree and jump over a log, running towards the direction where the scream came from.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

I don't need to ask who "she" is, I just blindly follow Cato's lead. By the sound of her scream, Clove is obviously angry at something.

When we finally stumble out of a clump of bushes, she is pacing back and forth, her face murderous.

"Who-" She suddenly spins around at our appearance, knife in hand, then relaxes. "Thank god, it's Cato."

I notice that there's a ravine behind Clove, it seems like we are at the edge of a cliff. On the other side of the bank, I can see more forest and grass. In between the two ledges is a huge, gushing river, swollen with a thousand tons of water. The excess amount of rain that we've been having today hasn't helped either, if anything, the storm has only made the current rush by faster and added to the amount of water.

"Yes, thank god that I'm here." Cato smirks. "What happened to District 3? You found him, right?"

"Of course I did." Clove snaps, raising her voice to be heard above the roar of the river. She is soaking wet, just like we are, and she doesn't have her backpack with her.

"I was chasing him, then one of my bag's straps got caught on a branch and he ran off somewhere. The damn weakling is around here though." She snarls. Clove opens her coat, which is lined with knives, and picks out half a dozen more to hold in her small hand.

"So you lost him." Cato snickers.

"He's somewhere around here!" Clove snarls. She punches Cato in the arm lightly, eyebrows furrowed and eyes dark.

"Ow…" Cato says, clutching at the place that she had hit. It's his injured arm.

"Wait, you're HURT?" Clove's voice is shrill with disbelief as she stares at the bandage. She growls under her breath.

Cato rolls his eyes. "Of course not, this is just a decorative bandage. They're quite popular in the Capitol, you know?" I have to hold back a smile.

"And it's your throwing arm too!" Clove yells. "How the hell are you supposed to help me now? Aghhh!" She makes a noise of agitation and glares at him.

"Shut up and start moving. Do you want to get District 3 or not?" Cato ignores her and takes the lead.

"You don't even know what direction he went in, let me go first." Clove snaps, pushing past him. She marches forward along the ledge. The rain is still pouring down like crazy, and I can hear the river beneath us pounding against the sides of the ledges.

"Is it really bad?" Clove asks, hurrying along the small strip of grass, not looking back at us. I am sandwiched between her and Cato.

"Torn muscle. Halfway through." He replies shortly, using one hand to wipe the water out of his eyes.

"That's going to take forever to heal up. Has Enobaria sent anything in for it?"

"No. It's fine. Stop worrying about me."

Clove half-snorts, half-snickers. "I'm not worried. It's just that I was hoping that you'd be able to throw a spear or something long-distance and make it easier for me."

"Wouldn't that kill him? District 3, I mean?" I ask loudly. The gushing sound of the river is really loud now.

"Cato can wound without killing." Clove replies simply, as if I should already know that. She turns her attention back to Cato and they talk about strategies and recount what happened while we were separated. Cato leaves out what happened last night, although I'm not entirely sure myself, and he also skips over what happened today under the sycamore tree.

"You took a knife for her? You should have just let Lover Boy kill her." Clove snarls, still moving forwards.

We are still running on the ledge, which is just a strip of grass about 5 feet across. To our right are trees and forest, to our left, the ravine and the river. The ground is wet underfoot, and the sky is strangely light as the rain falls. Thankfully, it has eased a little and is now just a light shower. Not like it matters anyways, we've already been soaked to the bone in the earlier hours of the storm.

"Lovely words, Clove." I mutter.

"Maybe the next time someone tries to kill you, I'll just stand and watch." He says sarcastically. I'm glad that he's sticking up for me.

Just then, I catch a glimpse of blue far ahead as something jumps out of the forest and starts running away from us.

"Yes! It's District 3!" Clove starts sprinting forwards, slowing closing in the gap between the figure running far ahead and herself.

I speed up as well, and I can hear Cato at my back, not quite touching me, but urging me to move faster. I force myself to sprint after Clove, shaking my head to get the water out of my eyes.

Suddenly in my haste, my foot hits something. A rock or a stick? I trip and then I am falling.

.

Falling off of the ledge. Falling towards the rushing river. Falling to my death.

I slam against the icy water, and everything goes black.

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

"Clove, wait!" I yell, staring over the edge of the cliff. Katniss apparently tripped or slipped or something, and has fallen into the river.

"What?" She screams back. The retreating figure jumps back into the forest, and I see Clove bristle. Then she realizes that Katniss isn't with us, and her eyes widen.

"Find me when I wash up somewhere, 'kay?" I call.

She gives me a look of doubt, but then nods once.

I fling off my backpack and dive into the river.

…

I fight to stay afloat, kicking with my legs and sweeping the water aside with my arms. I'm not used to swimming with the extra weight, and the high waves of water that crash over my head aren't helping.

Katniss seems to have passed out. Her head was nearly underwater when I had grabbed her up a few minutes ago.

The water tosses us this way and that in its icy grip, like a boisterous child playing with toys. I fling Katniss over my shoulder and focus on staying afloat, paddling at the water with my arms. I don't even feel pain when my arm with the cut slams into a rock. The water is so cold that I feel numb.

The current is strong, and it carries us along quickly. I can only hope that there isn't a surprise waterfall at the end of the river, like there always is in books and such.

I hope that Clove is still looking out for me. I'll be pissed if she isn't waiting for us when we get to land.

Finally after a few more minutes of being slammed into rocks and trying to keep my head afloat as the waves roughly push us against floating pieces of wood and debris, I see a tree root reaching out from a low ledge. The rain is still pelting down into our faces, but I manage to reach out and grab hold of the root.

I can hardly feel any of my fingers, let alone the rest of my body, and I force my arm to work, to pull us up. When another wave of water surges towards us, I let it boost me up onto the small grassy bank that slopes up to connect with the forest.

I roll onto the grass and gasp for breath.

I lay Katniss down on her side, so that she won't choke if she starts spitting up water, and start coughing myself.

I feel like a damn water fountain, I honestly don't know how much I swallowed, but water keeps coming up. I am left breathing hard.

I lay there, exhausted and cold, staring up into the cloudy sky as I wait for Clove to come.

"You damn idiot! Why did you jump in?" Clove comes running out from the forest, my backpack on her tiny shoulders. Her face is red and angry.

"You are such a freakin' idiot!" She screams again, this time she's crying. Actually crying.

"I thought that you were dead!" She wails, throwing my bag at me.

"Stop bawling, Clove. All of Panem is watching you." I rasp, coughing again. Clove stops mid-wail and composes herself within seconds.

I drag myself up and groan. Stupid rocks. I'm probably going to feel all the bruises tomorrow morning.

"Cato? She's not breathing…" Clove says, serious for once.

"What?" I sit up suddenly and crawl towards Katniss. Her eyes are closed and Clove is right, I can't see Katniss' chest rise or fall.

"Does she still have a pulse?" I ask. Clove puts two fingers on Katniss' neck.

"Yes. It's still going." She replies solemnly. I stare at Katniss for a moment. I _could _just let her die like this. I could.

But…

"She's going to need mouth-to-mouth, isn't she?" I groan. I already know the answer.

The rain has once again slowed to a light drizzle, a dramatic change from the raging storm that it was minutes before.

"Don't look at _me. _I'm not doing it if you paid me a million dollars." Clove snaps, quickly moving away from the girl on the grass.

"That means that you…" Clove breaks off and starts grinning.

"Shut up." I have to make the choice fast, if she goes without air for too long, she'll die.

"Enobaria or Haymitch or whoever, can you send in a mask or something?" I yell up into the sky. I honestly don't want to do this.

Thank god, a silver parachute with a "12" on it starts floating down slowly. Katniss' mentor must be as against this whole affair as I am.

But as it nears the river bank, something dark and feathery flies out of some bushes near us. It's one of those disgusting birds that Katniss had shot down a few days ago.

It flies straight into the metal capsule, it's wing getting tangled up in the parachute.

Then, just like that, the bird flies up into the sky, parachute in toll. I watch in freakin' disbelief as both of them disappear into one of the clouds.

"Seriously? Seriously? Seriously!" I shout. Damn it…damn those Game makers. I doubt that their even allowed to do that. Damn.

Clove is laughing like crazy now, and I stare at Katniss again, well-aware of the crucial seconds. being wasted.

I need to get Clove out of here, she'll never stop laughing if she sees this.

...

"Clove! District 3 just ran by on the other bank!" I yell as convincingly as possible. She snaps into focus, standing up.

"Where?"

"On that side of the river! He's freakin' getting away!" I answer with urgency.

"Ugh…I really wanted to see this too." She mutters as she crashes back into the trees, running towards the non-existent tribute.

_Ok. This is it. _

I gingerly roll Katniss onto her back.

_Pretend that it's your dog, Cato. Or a pillow or something. Not a human. Definitely not a girl. Definitely not the Fire Girl._

I close my eyes and slowly, slowly lower my head. I open them for a second, staring at her face. I close them again. _It's a pillow. Just a pillow. _

Then I place my lips on hers.

* * *

><p><strong>AND THERE'S YOUR FLUFF. C:<strong>

**Sorry, just really happy that I got this chapter done. MY HANDS ARE GONNA FALL OFF. It was raining like heck today, so I got a first-hand experience at what the wet, wet, forest is like. And how was the fluff? I feel giddy and light-headed now. Too long sitting at a desk staring at a computer screen? Yes. The sad thing is that I've had absolutely no romantic experience. You know, being 13 years old, I don't know much about the world. ****Gah. I wanna be Katniss right now. **

**...**

_Please review if you liked this chapter! Even a little comment would be appreciated. I would love to know what you thought, sweethearts! I know that many of you just read and rarely talk to me/leave feedback, but please consider leaving just a small comment or something. I feel like it's always the usual loyal reviewers that I hear from. Where did everyone else go? _

_I might update sometime this weekend. Maybe sooner. I don't know. Until then...farewell, my lovelies! :D_


	15. Not Entirely There

**A/N: Oh my goodness. I had six pages done this evening, and then I typed up another 7. It's 11: 45 pm right now. xD**

**Anyways, this was a fun chapter. I love writing. *giggles* **

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

I have trained for everything that I would ever need, even this. Even if I don't have a mask, I know what to do.

_Two quick breaths. _I quickly blow into Katniss' mouth. And then I draw back to see if her chest rises.

It does, but she does not continue breathing on her own. Her chest falls and stays still. I sigh softly and lean down again.

This time it is easier to mold my mouth over hers and deliver another several short breaths. I stop after a second and lift my head again, to see if she has started breathing.

Still…no. I stare down at Katniss, who looks exceptionally serene as she lies on the ground, eyes closed. Her braid was undone while we were fighting the current, so the dark hair fans out on the grass, some wet strands sticking to her cheeks. The rain continues to softly mist downwards, creating the illusion of fog swirling around us.

_She is so cold. And small. I can't even pretend that she's a pillow anymore. _The thoughts run through my head as I open her mouth slightly and push my lips against her soft, cold ones.

_But I also can't believe that she's the Fire Girl._

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

The first thing that I notice when I wake up is Cato. And…his mouth is on mine. I feel air being blown down my throat, and nearly cough.

He continues breathing into my mouth, oblivious to the fact that I'm awake. I can't say that the feeling isn't enjoyable. Cato's lips are firm and cold, but as he presses them into mine, I can detect warmth.

Finally he lifts his head.

"Oh, you're finally awake." He smirks.

"You were kissing me." I say slowly, eyes flicking up to Cato. He is all wet, as am I, and there is a small scratch on his cheek.

"Correction. I was saving your life. You passed out and weren't breathing." He replies, speaking just as slowly, probably to just annoy me. I glare at him, and he grins.

"Don't you use a mask for mouth to mouth?"

"Well…" He stops mid-sentence as a silver parachute drifts towards us. It lands by my hand, despite the billowing wind that almost sways it from its path.

There is a "2" printed on the side of the metal cartridge. Cato reaches over to grab it and pops open the top.

Inside is a thermos, a note, and…a rubber mask. He hands the thermos to me and removes the mask from the cartridge.

"Wow. Thanks, Enobaria. This _would_ have beenuseful if you'd gotten it to me a few minutes ago." He calls sarcastically.

I stare at the translucent rubber mask as Cato mumbles curses under his breath while reading the note. I don't even bother asking what it says, he'll tell me if he wants to.

"So there's your mask." He finally says, ripping the note to pieces. I watch the shreds of paper blow in the wind and stick to the ground as the rain wets them.

"You were still technically kissing me." I insist. The thermos is hot, and I wrap my hands around it.

"Maybe. But in that case…I took your 'first kiss', didn't I?" Cato smirks. The way that he says it makes me think that he doesn't believe in any of the gooey first kiss stuff. I consider this, and then scowl. _Just my luck to have my first technical kiss happen while I'm unconscious. _

"And your second one. And third, fourth, and fifth." He continues, tilting his head while he thinks. "I stopped counting after a while."

I stare at him in disbelief. Did I really stay unconscious through all of those?

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope. What's in there?" He gestures towards the thermos in my hands. I momentarily forget my annoyance and unscrew the top of the thermos. There's soup inside. Hot, steaming soup with vegetables and chunks of meat floating around in it. I hold it out to him.

"Soup. Do you want some?"

"You and Clove can have it. I'm not hungry." He refuses my offer flatly, not even looking interested.

"Suit yourself." I sniff, staring at the creamy surface of the hot broth.

"We should probably get out of the rain. Not like it matters anyways." Cato chuckles, getting up and moving his bag to under a tree along the bank. I scoot over, careful not to spill the hot soup.

It is a little drier under the branches, and less rain reaches us, but like Cato said, it doesn't make much of a difference. We're both already wet and cold.

"What happened while I was out?" I ask. All I remember is falling towards the river and seeing darkness as the icy depths gripped me.

"You fell into the river, I jumped in and got you, and then you weren't breathing, then Clove refused to do CPR on you, so I did." Cato says it all in one breath, watching as I pour half of the soup into the cap of the thermos and start sipping the other half.

"Oh." I mutter between sips. He saved my life, for the…I don't even know how many times he's risked his life for me.

I hope that someday I can return the favor.

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

I roll my eyes and get a match from my backpack. Clove put a few in there at some point. It's drier under here, so maybe a fire can be started.

There are a few large sticks further into the forest, and I gather them. They are a little damp, but dry enough to fuel a small fire.

After a few tries, a looking, pitiful little flame is slowly licking at the wood. Good enough. It's not like we'll be drying up anytime soon with the rain still going.

Katniss moves closer to the fire, still taking tiny gulps from her half of the soup. She keeps on flicking reproachful glances towards me. I pretend not to notice and just stare at the rushing river.

"Oh my god. Where's my bow?" She suddenly bursts out, nearly dropping the thermos. She looks around wildly, eyes wide.

"In the river, probably." I answer. Katniss stops searching and stares at the water for a moment. Then she turns back to her soup sullenly.

"And I only had it for a day." She scowls.

I don't answer. What am I supposed to say? The bow apparently means a lot to her.

At this rate with this damn excuse of a fire, neither one of us will get dry.

"I'm going to take off my shirt, so don't freak out, ok?" I don't even know why I bother to ask her. Probably because she acted all weird back at the lake. If I was with Clove, she wouldn't blink an eye even if I went completely naked. Not like I have, obviously.

"Sure. Whatever." Katniss is still sulking about her bow, and keeps her eyes on her soup.

I wince as I pull the shirt away from my cut and over my head. The bandage is wet, and I can see red blossoming across the tight cloth.

"I'll get you another bandage." Katniss lifts her head to stare at the blood and dejectedly retrieves a new one from my bag.

"It's worse. You really need some medicine for this, you know…" She tells me once the old bandage is off. I guess that it's worsened, probably because my arm was smashed against those rocks. The wound has opened up again, and there's blood everywhere.

"None of those when you did CPR counted, ok?" Katniss mutters as she dresses the wound. "None of them."

"Of course they didn't. You weren't even conscious, airhead."

"Although I _did _technically take your first kiss." I smirk. She glares at me, but I can see a hint of red creeping into her face.

"You shouldn't say that to someone who's bandaging your wound." She growls, purposely jostling my shoulder. Pain shoots down my arm, but I continue smirking.

"And did I have the honor of taking yours?" Katniss continues sarcastically. My first kiss, she means. I almost laugh out loud, but contain my amusement in a quiet snicker.

"_You wish_, Fire Girl."

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

"Well then." I fire back. I jostle Cato's shoulder again, and secretly smile when I see his fist clench ever so slightly, although his face stays obnoxiously indifferent.

I mean, I've fallen into a river, lost my bow, and been given mouth to mouth by the most dangerous tribute in the 74th Hunger Games. All today. Does he really have to be so cocky and annoy me even more?

I tie the bandage and sit back down and start sipping at my soup again. I know that I'm sulking and may be overreacting, but I can't help it. I've lost one of the only advantages that I had.

I re-braid my wet hair and hunch down, frowning.

.

Just then, there is a rustling from the trees, and Clove appears, cursing and brushing leaves off her clothes.

"You…" She storms up to Cato and throws her knives down on the ground near the fire.

"He wasn't there. I ran around like crazy trying to find him, but he was nowhere." She hisses, glaring at him. "You totally did that so that I wouldn't be there to see you kissing Fire Girl."

"Shut up, Clove. I was not kissing her." Cato replies, annoyed. "And you know that I didn't like it any more than you did."

_Oh. Thanks, Cato. _

"And now I'm all wet and cold and miserable." Clove sniffles, sitting down next to Cato. She adds several pieces of wood to the fire, and it blazes for a few seconds before shrinking down again.

"I wish that it would stop raining. It's getting really annoying." She continues, stripping off her jacket.

Just then, the misty rain stops. It slowly recedes, clearing away the fog. All that is left is the cloudy, gray sky.

"Thank god." Cato mutters. I stare at his exposed torso while he adds more pieces of wood to the fire.

"I wish that…I was better with weapons than Cato." Clove muses, looking up at the sky. I almost smile at her hopeful expression.

Cato shoves Clove lightly, just enough to unseat her and push her to the ground.

"We all know that'll never happen." He smirks. Clove sits up indignantly and rolls her eyes at him.

"Don't blame me for trying."

.

"So you're alright." She turns to me and regards me coolly, all playfulness gone. The change in her maturity level is so sudden that I have a hard time believing that the serious brunette in front of me had been messing around with Cato only moments ago.

"Yes."

"He could have just let you die." Clove continues quietly. "Then he and I could have become partners."

"I know.' I growl. I honestly don't even feel like giving her the soup anymore. Maybe I should just eat it all as payback.

"First you fell into the river. Then for some reason, he just _had _to jump in and get you. Do you even know how strong the current was? It almost swept both of you away. But then Cato got to shore." Clove's eyes are narrowed and her voice is almost a whisper. I blink slowly and stare at her.

"And then you weren't breathing and for another strange reason, he decided to save your life again. Let's see now…is this is third time?" Her voice is trembling a bit.

"If I didn't know better, I would have though that-" Her words are cut off when Cato grabs her from behind and claps a hand over her mouth. She is still staring at me with those narrowed eyes.

"Calm down." He says softly to her. After a few seconds, she nods and he removes his hand.

In the silence that follows, I quietly hand her the thermos of soup. She takes it hesitantly, and inspects the contents closely before taking a sip. She watches me warily.

I remember a day back home when I was hunting alone. It is the same look that a wild dog gave me once while considering whether I was dangerous or not. I stood there, motionless with my bow in hand, slowly pulling back the bowstring. The dog continued watching me with its bright black eyes, sniffing at the air. But right when the arrow left my bow, the creature leapt away into the bushes.

I have a feeling that, like the wild dog, Clove is hard to trick. And even harder to catch.

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

"District 3 can't be far. Let's go get him." I say. My body wants to lie down and just sleep, but my mind wants to feel the exhilaration of taking down another opponent.

Clove and Katniss both give me a quizzical look, soup in hands.

"Are you serious?" Of course it's Katniss who questions my motives.

"Yeah Cato…you're totally not up for that right now." And of course it's Clove who sees through me.

"There's time to rest later. Clove and I will go." I make my voice hard and commanding, a tone that leaves no room for negotiation or protests.

Clove knows this voice. She knows that I won't listen to anyone.

"Fine then. But if you pass out, I'm _not _gonna carry you anywhere."

"I won't pass out." I reply. Katniss is scowling, as always. I look at her. "And you're probably still weak, so just stay and guard the stuff."

"In other words, he doesn't think that you can keep up." Clove smirks, gulping down the last of her thermos.

"Just shut up and leave."

"Clove, give her one of your knives." I command while pulling on my still-wet shirt. Clove turns to me with a look of disbelief.

"No way. No. Way." She gathers up the pile of knives on the ground and holds them to her chest with tight hands.

"She lost her bow and her knife when she fell. Clove, give her one. Now." I use the same commanding tone, and Clove hesitantly opens her coat and selects an ornate gold blade with a ragged edge.

"I really like this one. Don't you dare lose it." She growls, handing it to Katniss.

"I really like that one. Don't you dare lose him." Katniss mimics in a low voice, staring at me.

I raise my eyebrows.

"Ooo…so that's how it is." Clove giggles, excitement in her voice. She's definitely going to be teasing me about this later.

I stare at Katniss' defiant expression for a moment. Then I turn and walk into the forest. I don't look back.

**...**

"Maybe I should call _you _Lover Boy now."

"Hehehe..."

"I knew it! I knew it from the beginning!"

"Hey, do you like her too?"

"And you technically kissed her today!"

"Aww…this is too cute!"

.

Clove either snickers or giggles manically with each new outburst. I have stayed silent through her ramblings, and find her to be annoying.

"Shut up and pay attention. Where did you last see him?" I snarl, silencing her periodic bouts of chuckling.

"Well, I saw him run towards a cave near the river, but then I had to bring you your stuff, so I didn't follow him."

"You are such an idiot, Clove. You should have finished him then and there."

"I honestly didn't feel like lugging your stuff around while trying to chase him and you would have been furious if I hadn't shown up." She retorts, rolling her eyes.

She's right, and I leave it alone, and instead make my way out of the trees. Clove follows and we emerge and find ourselves back on the ledge that we were on earlier today.

The sky is still cloudy. It must be evening now.

"There." Clove points to a small, dark opening in the face of a stone ledge down below. I wonder how the boy got down there without falling into the water and washing up. Then I study the ledge we are on.

Yes, if we go down onto that rock there…and then jump onto that tree root…and then skid down that little slope…that part of the river doesn't look too deep, we can step across…and then a simple jump away is the bank next to the cave.

"I got this. Follow me."

We maneuver our way down the ledges, each step planned out in my head. One thing I like about Clove is how she knows how to follow orders when it's time to.

"I block the entrance while you kill him." I murmur once we are standing in front of the cave entrance.

And then we surge forwards and step into darkness.

.

It takes a few moments for our eyes to adjust to the sudden change in light. And as our pupils dilate, I notice the pair of eyes staring out of the darkness, gleaming. A flash of metal attracts my attention as well. The boy has a knife.

But one knife is nothing against Clove's many.

"Cato! I can't see clearly, it's too dark. You wound him for me first." Clove's familiar hiss comes from my right.

I move out of the entrance while her smaller form takes my place. My sword is in my hand, and the hand of my injured arm is at my belt, ready to retrieve a dagger or knife.

"L-leave me alone. I have a knife." The boy's wavering squeak portrays his fear.

"Drop the knife and I won't kill you." I snicker. My night vision is better than Cloves, and I can vaguely see bright bags piled in a corner of the small cavern.

There is hesitation, and I lift my sword.

"Wait! I'll drop it!" He cries, releasing the knife. It falls to the ground with a clang, and the boy shrinks back, slowly raising his arms above his head.

"Y-you said that you wouldn't kill me…" He sounds terrified, and I feel a smirk spreading across my face.

"Exactly."

Then I slash my sword across his chest.

…

The blood pours out immediately, spraying into the air and completely drenching the front of my shirt.

The boy falls with a groan, hands desperately clutching at his chest, trying to close a wound that will never heal.

I only skimmed the skin and sliced open a thin layer of flesh, not enough to kill immediately, but more than enough to cause immense amounts of blood loss.

"There you go, Clove." I step back as my district partner scurries forward, letting light back into the cave.

While she whips out her assortment of knives with surprising speed and stabs the boy's arm, I check the backpacks and pile of objects next to it.

Hmm. There are two bags with a variety of supplies in them, although there aren't any sleeping bags or jackets. Then in the pile of supplies, I find rope and a pair of glasses. By the look of it, they have night-vision lenses. We use them back home sometimes.

Then, underneath another large coil of rope…a bow and a few arrows. Katniss' bow and arrows. I grab the backpacks and the bow, and stick the few arrows in my belt. There are only four, and the feathers are no longer straight, but are splayed out and roughed up. Too bad for her.

"Hah!" Clove snickers as she runs the tip of her blade down the boy's cheek. There is a growing pool of blood collecting around his savaged body.

"Clove, that's enough." I say, heading towards the entrance. She looks at me, and there's madness and glee in her dark pupils.

"Clove! Enough!" Clove doesn't stop, and I roll my eyes. It's been too long since she's killed something.

But the tiny whimpers and groans that emerge from District 3's bloody mouth is getting quite annoying.

"Clove, if you don't finish him now, I will." I threaten.

"Fine!" She stabs downwards once more, and the body stops jerking. A cannon sounds, and I stride out of the cave and into the daylight once more.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

I was so bored that I started counting the number of weapons in Cato's backpack. 1,2,3…17 in all. 6 knives, a very short spear, a pack of poisoned darts, 3 daggers, a mace, and several other sharp and deadly-looking objects that I hope to never see again.

When the cannon sounds, I quickly put them back and zip up the backpack. Hopefully Cato and Clove completed their mission, and the cannon was announcing the death of the District 3 boy, not one of them.

.

When they finally emerge from the trees, the sky is getting dark, and I've started a fire.

"Oh my holy god." I gasp. They are both covered, and I mean _completely covered _with blood. In the glow of the flames, they look terrifying.

"None of it is ours. Well, most of it isn't." Cato snickers. He walks to the edge of the water, which has calmed since the storm passed; and splashes water over his head and arms.

"Good that you weren't there. You would have screamed your little head off." Clove smirks, following suit.

"I would not have, Clove." I retort. But eyeing the scarlet substance that rolls off their skin and colors the river water, I wonder how violent the entire scene had been.

"Cato totally wouldn't have done any of the things that he did if you were there though. He probably would've just nicely stabbed the little twerp." Then as an afterthought, Clove giggles. "But where's the fun in that?"

After washing out most of the blood, they sit down by the fire, sopping wet. It seems like they didn't get a single scratch. It must have been pretty intense a killing for all that blood to have come from the victim's weak body.

"So…you apparently like Cato a lot, hmm?" Clove leans forward, lips curled up to reveal a row of small white teeth.

"Did I say that?"

Cato rolls his eyes and drops all the stuff on his back in a pile with our bags.

"Yes, you said that you 'really like' him." The brunette girl makes air quotes and grins at me mischievously.

"No, I was talking to Cato's sword. I named it…uh…" I stop for a moment to think. "I named it Moe." I feel immensely stupid, and remember to add a surge of sarcasm at the end of the sentence.

"You're getting weirder and weirder every time I'm with you." Cato snorts, snickering at my feeble attempt to hide up what I said earlier.

"Umm…yeah." Clove agrees, smirking. Luckily she leaves it alone and instead fishes around in the food bags.

"There's nothing good in here. Just bread." She tosses loaves of bread to Cato and me.

"I'm not keeping watch tonight, just to let you know." Cato says matter-of-factly as we eat.

Clove nearly jumps up in glee. "Yes! Finally you're being selfish! Yes!" I personally think that it's a strange reason to celebrate.

Cato growls softly and then smirks at his district partner. "How 'bout you keep watch then, Miss Selfish?"

"What? No! I need sleep!" Clove stops bouncing up and down and glares at him.

"I'll keep watch, ok?" I interject.

"Probably just wants to see you sleeping." Clove snickers, nudging Cato. He nearly spits out his food, and gives her a strange look.

We both say the next words at the exact same time.

"Shut up, Clove."

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

I wake up in the middle of the night for some strange reason. I turn over and see Katniss sitting there, looking bored. She is still holding the knife that Clove lent her…I haven't given her the bow yet.

I sit up, and Katniss snaps her head up at the sudden motion. When she realizes that it's just me, she relaxes.

"Why are you awake?" She whispers. Clove is still sleeping peacefully, her back to us.

"I don't know. I'm just checking if you've eloped with my sword." I answer softly, sarcastically.

She stays silent and just stares at me. She really does remind me of an owl, with those seemingly unblinking eyes.

"Staring is impolite, you know."

"And kissing someone while they're unconscious is impolite too." Katniss answers. I send her a look that says _that doesn't even make any sense._

"I thought that none of those counted."

"Except for the last one. I felt that one."

"Did you now." I murmur, smirking.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

I am seized by a sudden urge to jump into his warmness, but hold myself back. I mean, what kind of stupid love-struck girl does that?

_You. _The voice in my head says. I tell it to shut up.

Instead, I slowly get up and scoot my way towards him. Clove is using my sleeping bag, but Cato is just lying on the lush grass.

He doesn't even blink or move a bit as I finally sit down next to him. We stare at each other and I notice how his hair looks silvery in the moonlight. It looks so soft, I want to touch it.

_Ok, Katniss. Stop thinking strange, creepy thoughts. _

Of course I don't listen to the little voice, and reach out a hand tentatively. Cato lies back down, staring up into the starry sky. His eyes flick towards my approaching fingers.

"If you're going to do something weird, do it quickly." He smirks, blue eyes still trained on my hand.

Finally my fingertips brush against the blond hair, and I quickly run them through. I was right, Cato's hair _is _really soft.

"I really don't know why I'm not completely pissed off right now. I would normally have snapped your wrist if you did something like this." Cato murmurs, closing his eyes.

I don't say anything, but just continue carefully stroking his hair.

And when he falls asleep, my hand is still lightly running through the blonde strands.

But it isn't the same. He isn't there with me, it's like having a conversation with someone that never answers.

I stop and draw my hand back.

.

I know what it must have felt like for him to kiss me while I was unconscious. I wasn't there, therefore he wasn't either.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: There you go, hunnie-buns. I hope that the fluff is suffiecient enough to dull the cravings a bit? Idk...****Anyways, thank you all very much for the reviews on the previous chapter. I still feel like it's always the same people giving me feedback. Don't be afraid to tell me what you think, even an anonymous review is recieved with much gusto and happiness. C:**

**Please review with any thoughts, comments, critiques, suggestions, or just some feedback! And if you've never reviewed before, think about it please?**

**...**

_**Oh yes...what would you guys do if Cato died while trying to save Katniss or Clove? Or by other means?**_

_**And, if I did a AU fanfic of the 75th Hunger Games (which may or may not include Cato), would you read it?**_

**...**

Lastly, if you're looking for a Finnick Odair/OC fanfic on the 65th Hunger Games, please check out my other story.

**Until the next update...farewell! *hugs***


	16. Stars and Memories

**Important A/N, please read: **I_ find that while my chapters get lengthier and lengthier, the amount of feedback is decreasing. Is this story boring you? Or is it the long chapters? Maybe I should have cut this chapter in 2...15 pages in Word, at 10 pt font. That's quite long, trust me. And it took only 3 days to complete. I honestly don't even know why I'm updating so fast...it's like I can't live without writing , I like, neglect my schoolwork and work on my fanfics instead, which is pretty bad. Eh...it's worth it. _

_I'm very glad that so many people are liking my writing, and almost 400 of you have this fanfic in your alerts. But quite frankly, I really don't care if you favorite my story or add it to your story alerts. What I really want is to know what you think about my writing, and how I can improve. I know that many of you just read and wait for my next update, as silent as an owl...no, a mouse. But seriously, I love love love reading reviews. I smile so much and I actually say stuff like "Awww...that's so sweet, hunnie!" and "You are such a darling..." out loud while checking my messages on my ipod. My family thinks that I'm freakin' crazy. (and they're right.)_

_And...about the whole subject on whether Cato will be dying or not...I've decided not. I really do love him, which is pretty obvious when you look at my username and profile pic. That, and I sort-of created him to be the guy that I would absolutely kill someone to have. Oh yes, I've always wanted to marry a blonde guy with the last name Greene as well...so...uh, yeah. Oh yes, and I'd rather not have 30 angry people coming to my house with knives and purell. (Lol hunnie, that made me laugh.) Anyways, I have also decided to create an alternate universe fanfic of the 75th annual Hunger Games after I finish up this story and also my other fanfic on Finnick and my OC's year. The thing is, the Quarter Quell fanfic will feature Cato, Katniss, Finnick, and maybe Rose (my OC). So if you want to prep up for that story, you might wanna jump onto the bandwagon for my other fanfic, so that you actually understand the stuff about them that I will be writing. _

_Anyways, please enjoy. _

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><p><em>...<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

"Don't move!"

"I'm not!" I reply, annoyed. "Clove, stop pushing me!" I slam my shoulder into Cloves, bumping her away from me.

"But I'm hungry! Can't she bandage your arm _after _we get some food?"

I roll my eyes, we'll have to get back to the lake and retrieve another bag of food from the tree. Although I doubt that it'll still be there. With all the rain and animals, there's probably nothing left.

"It's going to take forever to walk back to the lake. It'll be easier if I just hunt down a bird." Katniss snorts, grabbing my arm again.

We are sitting on the grass next to the river, Katniss is on one side of me and Clove is on the other. It's nice out today, the clouds have completely cleared.

"With what?" I smirk, knowing that the bow is still hidden under several backpacks.

"You know what? Just…" She opens her mouth, searching for a word that is nicer than _shut up._ I can tell by the way that a scowl starts to form on her lips and how her lips are slightly pursed, holding back the words. "Ugh…just be quiet and stay still, ok?"

"It's ok to tell him to shut up. He really doesn't mind." Clove snickers. She has picked up on it as well.

I smirk again and watch my district partner pace back and forth frustratingly while Katniss takes off the bandage.

She'll get her precious bow back soon. Then maybe she won't be as much as an airhead, like she's been ever since she lost it.

I'm hoping that she normally acts like she does with a bow, not like the weirdo that she is without it. If not…well, Clove's going to be the one coming out with me.

I can't let another strange girl creep into my life again. Not after what happened last year.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

"Oh." I stare at the wound. Bleeding has pretty much stopped, but I can still see the pink muscle that lies under the skin. That knife actually went very deep, it seems. Every time that Cato moves his arm the slightest, I can see the muscles moving underneath, straining to connect with each other.

I remember multiple occasions when mine workers with torn muscles or ligaments came to my mother for treatment. They usually healed after a few weeks. It's only been a few days with Cato though, and I have a feeling that this injury is much more serious. The muscles in his arm were cut apart, not torn. And the wound will probably stay open until it's stitched up.

And then there's the fact that the flesh is getting infectious as well. Red-looking, starting to swell. Not a major concern at this point, but if it isn't treated, it could become a problem.

"This isn't going to heal anytime soon. An infection is sort-of forming." I say, racking my brain for what to do. I rarely stayed in the house when a patient appeared at the door. I prefer find hunting in the woods to seeing blood and pus and all that pour out of people's bodies.

I do know that you have to keep infections clean though. And that they sometimes bring fevers if they're bad. Oh yes, and there's probably bound to be pus and more blood. Wonderful.

"Exactly what I wanted to hear." Cato's sarcastic sigh brings me back from memories of horrible infected wounds that caused me to flee out the back door like a child running from her playmate. Alright, bad comparison. It's more like someone running from a rat with two heads. No, even better…a tribute running for their lives.

Nah, that seems too dramatic. I decide to stick with the two-headed rat comparison.

Clove whirls around and breaks off her pacing and comes to look at Cato's arm.

"He'll be fine. Cato's been hurt so many times that he's probably partially immune to pain." She says after one glance.

"That's good, I guess." I quickly add, "that he isn't in much pain, not that he's been hurt."

"I swear, every single person in the damn training center back home has nabbed him at least once. While he's concentrating on something else, of course."

"That includes you, Clove. Remember when you 'accidently' threw a knife at my face?"

"Uh huh. It didn't even leave a scar though, 'cause it only skimmed your cheek." Clove is grinning, and there is slight disappointment in her tone.

"No, seriously. It's like they were all trying to mess you up and make it less likely for you to be chosen. Or maybe they were just aiming to screw up that pwetty little face of yours." She snickers and Cato rolls his eyes again.

"That explains why no one threw anything at you, doesn't it?" Cato smirks as Clove makes a face and sticks out her tongue at him.

.

I walk a few feet and wet a cloth in the river. When I sit down at Cato's arm again, I think about warning him of what I'm about to do, but then decide against it. He's _far _to busy snickering with Clove to notice a lowly District 12 girl that just happens to be tending his wound. I can feel a frown coming on, and force my mouth to not move downwards.

"Like it mattered how good-looking you were…she didn't care either way." Clove says. Then her hands fly to her mouth as if she's said something extremely terrible.

"Don't. Please don't." Cato says softly, closing his eyes. His voice is flat, emotionless. There's no way that I can tell what he is feeling, it's either his voice or his eyes. He gives nothing away with his body.

They are both silent, smirks gone. Clove shoots apologetic looks towards Cato, although his eyes are still closed. Finally she just casts her eyes downwards and just stares at her hands.

I'm so intent on trying to figure out what Clove meant that my hand tightens, forcing the water out of the soaking cloth.

The water drops onto Cato's cut, some water droplets seeping into the open wound. _Ouch. That probably stings like crazy. _

But he stays motionless, only twitching his shoulder the tiniest bit.

"I'm sorry, Cato." Clove says meekly. It is one of the few times that I have ever seen her serious.

Cato opens his eyes and stands up without giving me a chance to bandage his wound. He walks to the river and stares down at the calm, flowing water.

"Let's change the subject." He says. "Katniss, look under those backpacks." His voice is still flat, but I hear him making an effort to sound normal.

I put down the wet cloth and walk towards the pile underneath the tree. Lifting up Cato's (extremely) heavy backpack, I notice a familiar silver shine.

I pick up the bow and turn back to Cato and Clove. Clove's still staring at her hands, but Cato is watching me, waiting for my reaction.

In actuality, I really just want to punch him for hiding the bow _again_, but seeing the expression in his eyes and remembering the flatness of his voice, I decide to tone down my anger a bit.

"Did you find this, or was it with you this whole time?" I can't keep the accusing tone out of my voice. "And where are the arrows?"

"District 3 had it with him." Clove cuts in. "The arrows are probably in his backpack or something."

I look towards Cato for permission, and when he nods, I unzip his backpack. Inside are four silver arrows. The white feathers that were so stiff and straight when I snatched the quiver from Glimmer are now roughed up, but I can deal with that. It's not too hard to straighten feathers.

"You're welcome." Cato finally says. When I look over, the familiar smirk is back. But I can't help but wonder if everything is just a mask. The smirk, the flat voice, those icy eyes that guard secrets so well, what if they are all hiding something?

I'm so puzzled that I don't answer immediately.

"_Very _welcome." He prompts again.

"Ok, I got it the first time. Thanks."

"I really don't feel like heading back to the lake today." He suddenly says, eyeing my bow. In other words, he wants me to hunt.

"Alright. Clove, can you clean up his arm and bandage it? I might be gone for a while."

"I'll do whatever if you bring back food," she grumbles. I smile a little and tread step into the forest.

This is my territory now.

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

This can't be happening. No…why did Clove have to bring her up?

Images flash through my mind, and I try to force them away. Intense blue eyes, a melodic voice, dancing in the rain…no. I can't, I just can't think about her anymore.

"I really am sorry, Cato. I didn't mean to…" Clove apologizes again, and there is genuine sorrow in her voice. She knew her like I did, she knows what I'm thinking of.

"Clove…it's too late now. She's gone." I let go of the flat voice, and find my tone to be so full of emotion that I stop talking and just stare at the river again.

It's better to stay quiet than show weakness.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

"What the hell is that?"

"It's called a rabbit, Clove. And here's a bird." I throw the still-warm bodies at Clove, and grin when she quickly jumps out of the way.

"That's unsanitary, you know." She stares at the mangled fur and mussed feathers, covered with blood. I tried to straighten out the feathers on the arrows, but it was still hard to get a clean shot. I got the bird after two arrows, and the rabbit after one.

"I wouldn't be talking, Clove. You came back covered in blood yesterday, remember?" I find it ironic that a killer like Clove, who loves seeing blood run from wounds that she's inflicted; is disgusted with a bit of blood on a freakin' rabbit. A rabbit, for god's sake.

"Hmph. Just cook it and tell me when it's done." She turns on her heel and scurries back to Cato. I grit my teeth and several curses and threats run through my mind.

"Oh yeah, I need my knife back now. Since you have your bow."

"Obnoxious little…" I growl.

Clove moves to the backpacks and sits down, back turned to us. She seems to be taking out her knives and counting them? Or is she sorting them?

I take the golden knife from my belt and get ready to stomp over there and give it to her. But then Cato catches my eye.

He mouths two words. _Throw it._

I pull back my arm and throw the knife at a tree trunk right next to Clove's sitting figure. It hits kind-of near my intended target…uh, yeah. It misses by several inches and instead hits a log only a few inches away from Clove.

_Thump._

"What the hell!" She jumps up nearly a foot, eyes wide and knives in hand. Cato is snickering like crazy, but I manage to keep a straight face.

"Freakin' idiots." She mutters. Then she slaps Cato hard. In the split second before her hand flashes out though, I can see her eyeing the injured arm, as if she was thinking about hitting it instead of his good arm.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Clove watches as Cato continues chuckling, and then answers her own question. "No. Your aim can't be that bad."

"I'm watching you, Fire Girl." She makes the _I've got my eyes on you _motion, pointing two fingers in my direction, before sitting back down.

I exchange grins with Cato, but then quickly wipe my face blank as Clove suddenly turns and stares at me with narrowed eyes.

While I skin and cook the rabbit and bird, she glances at me several times, much to my amusement.

Cato is on his back, staring up at the fluffy white clouds. He looks so…bored, emotionless. Like he's feeling absolutely nothing at the moment.

But I've learned that he's a little _too _good at hiding things.

As my hand turns the spit that the rabbit and the fowl are on, I think about what Clove said to upset Cato so much. Something about a girl and how she didn't care about how he looked. I'm so curious that I want to just ask outright, but I know that they wouldn't answer.

"It's ready." I say, removing the cooked meat from the fire. Clove glances at Cato, who doesn't move an inch, let alone acknowledge me, and scurries to the fire.

"You eat some first, just in case it's poisoned." She insists. I roll my eyes and rip off a rabbit leg, taking a huge bite.

"Happy now?"

In response, Clove tears off a piece of the bird, slowly bringing it to her lips. She takes a tiny bite and chews slowly.

"Not bad. Still not as good as chicken though." Typical response from a teenager raised in one of Panem's wealthiest districts. I don't even bother arguing, I just send her an annoyed look and continue eating my leg of meat.

I am about to call out to Cato, asking if he wants any, but Clove grabs my arm as I open my mouth, digging her tiny nails into my skin.

"Leave him alone. He'll eat when he wants to." She hisses softly. Cato is still laying there, face blank, staring up into the blue blue sky.

"Okay." I tear my arm out of Clove's grasp and put out the fire. Then I find a sheet of foil in one of the backpacks and wrap the remaining meat in it. The embers of the fire are still hot, and I bury the foil into the ashes.

"I have to leave." Cato suddenly says.

"Leave where?" I ask.

"To get the food from the lake." He replies flatly.

I exchange glances with Clove. We all know that whatever was left of the food bags is most likely gone by now, washed away by the rain, eaten by wild animals, or rotten.

Knowing Cato, he knows this very well. If he's leaving, it's not to get food from the lake. He has another intention.

"Like, right now?" Clove voices my question. Cato gives a small chuckle.

"Yes, right now." He sits up slowly. "You two stay here."

"But you'll be gone for most of the day, right?" Honestly, if Cato's _actually _going to the lake, he's going to have to find which direction it's in first. And from what I know, it's going to be quite a long trek, even while running.

"Yes." He agrees, standing up. It is all so sudden, the announcement and decision. Cato walks over to the pile of bags and hoists his up on his shoulders.

"Do you want something to eat?"

"No. Be good, ok?" He smiles crookedly, but there is something wrong. His mouth is smiling, but his eyes are full of something completely different. I can't tell if it's sorrow, or if I am just having trouble seeing in the sunlight.

"Yeah, whatever. Just don't get killed." Clove dismisses him with a wave of her hand, going back to her leg of bird. I can't believe that she can just wave him off like that. But then I notice the way that her head is tilted slightly towards Cato. Listening for his response.

"Likewise. And shouldn't you know, Clove? I don't die easily."

And before I can say anything, he is gone. I sit there with Clove, confused. Where is he going? And why?

...

Morning merges into afternoon, and then afternoon slowly slips into evening. Cato still hasn't returned. The past hours have been painfully awkward, since Clove prefers to play with her knives and eat continuously rather than talk to me.

I decide to break the silence, since I've become quite bored with trying to catch the little silver fish that slip between my fingers and continue their swimming in the river.

"Do you know where he's actually going?"

"Weren't you listening? To the lake, idiot." She pauses her sharpening of knives and rolls her eyes. But I can tell that she doesn't believe it either, by the way that her eyes cloud with is that…worry?

"Seriously. You know where he is, don't you?" I prompt again. Her eyebrows furrow a bit and her answer is spoken slowly.

"Cato's probably laying in a meadow or something right now." _A meadow? _I feel like Clove can answer many of the questions that have been running through my mind, and I move away from the river and take a seat across from her.

"A meadow?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. "Why a meadow?"

"God, Fire Girl. Why are you so curious about everything? It's not like it matters to _you._" Clove growls, returning to her knives.

"Be that way then." I huff. Then seeing Clove reach for another piece of rabbit meat, I add, "And you can't have any more of the rabbit."

She draws back her hand and scowls at me, finally rolling her eyes.

"It's because the meadow used to be where he would take h-" Clove suddenly stops speaking. "Where he would take…his dog." She finishes with difficulty, and I know that that is not what she was really going to say.

"Of course. He's visiting a meadow because he misses his _dog._" I say.

"Sorry. I can't tell you any more than I just did. Cato'll kill me if he finds out."

.

The sky is steadily darkening, and I start a fire while Clove stays silent, looking troubled.

"How much do you know about him?" I ask. Clove scoots closer to the fire, eyebrows still furrowed.

"Everything. Every damn thing about his life. Well, almost everything." She answers softly, not a drop of sarcasm in her voice.

"Is that a good thing?"

"Well, it's nice to have an idea of what goes on in his head…and you don't really ever get bored with Cato Greene." She smirks.

"Yeah, I've noticed." Then, realizing that this is the perfect opportunity to learn more about the dangerous District 2 tribute, I lean forward. "Tell me about him."

"And why would I do that? Ask him yourself." Clove snickers.

"No rabbit for you." I take the remainder of the rabbit and the bird and stuff them into a backpack. But before I zip the backpack up, I rip off a piece of meat, purposely chewing dramatically.

"This is _really _good. Too bad that you can't have any."

Clove glares at me, and fire reflects in her dark eyes. The sky is very dark now, and the first stars can be seen among the indigo masses.

.

"I hate you." Clove says, throwing another stick into the fire. "Fine then." She takes a breath, as if to prepare. I eagerly sit down on the grass besides her, drawing my knees to my chest.

"Well, Cato's extremely, no…unhealthily competitive. He always wants to be the best at everything. And I have to admit, he usually is."

"That's obvious." I mutter.

"He can so obnoxious that you just want to slap him." Clove continues.

"Tell me about it."

"But he can also be decent. In an obnoxious way, of course. Once when I broke my leg, he carried me home…"

"Yeah, how nice of him."

Clove shoots a look of irritation towards me. "Will you shut up with the comments already? I'm trying to talk here."

I blink innocently and put on a pleasant smile. "Go on."

"He despises weakness. Absolutely despises it. He never, ever, shows any type of weakness. Ever. Oh, and on that note, Cato can hide things so well that even I can't figure him out sometimes."

"Oh my god. Even _Clove_ can't figure Cato out? The world's coming to an end." I can't help but comment sarcastically, the way that Clove is talking just _calls _for some sarcasm.

I blink innocently again when Clove's hand tightens around the handle of a silver knife.

"And one last thing that you need to know. He doesn't love easily." She whispers, looking around as if Cato is listening.

I digest the information slowly, staring into the red-hot embers of the fire. Clove continues talking.

"And…when he falls? Damn. He falls hard."

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

I know that a meadow is the last place that I should go to forget. To push all those memories behind me again.

But I can't stop myself.

I spend the whole day in that little meadow, just laying there and thinking. About her, about home, about what I should do. And finally when the first twinkling lights appear in the dark sky, I sit up, thoughts still running through my head.

…

"How was your trip to the lake? Tired much?" Clove asks when I get back to our temporary camp. She is keeping watch, and Katniss seems to be asleep, huddled in her sleeping bag. It is cold tonight, frosty even.

"Very. It was quite a trip. All the food was gone." I smirk back. She obviously knows that I basically sat in a meadow all day.

"That's too bad, because all the meat that Katniss hunted is gone too. Guess you'll have to wait 'til tomorrow to eat."

"Guess so. Go to sleep, I'll take it from here." I can't sleep right now anyways, my head is too full of thoughts, confusing images that disappear as quickly as they come, snatches of soft voices.

"Ok. Ugh…why do we only have one sleeping bag between us? It's cold tonight," Clove mumbles, annoyed. She finally lays down a few feet away from Katniss' sleeping figure, curling up to stay warm. It's pathetic.

I whip off my shirt and throw it at her. With surprising speed, she sits up and snatches it out of the air.

"Ooo! And it's still warm!" She talking about it as if it's food. "Won't you be cold though?"

"You know that I don't get cold easily, Clove." I roll my eyes. It's slightly chilly out, but nothing that I can't handle.

She sniffs the shirt, and I have to resist the urge to roll my eyes again.

"Clean enough for you?"

"Yes actually. It sort-of smells like blood though." She inhales again, bringing the shirt to her tiny face.

"I apologize sincerely that I was unable to prevent the tribute boy's blood from dirtying my garments." I manage to keep a straight face and put on a snotty, formal tone. But then I start snickering, and all seriousness that I had disappears.

She looks at me like I'm crazy, then smiles wickedly.

"Apology accepted. And just to let you know, I actually _like _the smell of blood."

"I know you do. Sadly." I reply.

Clove shoots me another manic grin, and then drapes the dark shirt over her body and curls up again. She is asleep within minutes.

And then I'm sitting there alone again, thinking and wishing for something that I can never have again. The sky is filled with tiny spears of cold light, surrounded by a blanket of darkness.

If only shooting stars were real.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

"You and I both have a thing for waking up in the middle of the night, don't we?"

The first thing that I hear when I jerk awake from a dream is a familiar, obnoxiously sarcastic voice.

I yawn and fight the urge to fall asleep. The moon is full tonight, and I can see Cato sitting near the river, which shimmers in the silver light.

"Yes, we seem to." I rub my eyes, then look at Cato again. "Geez, put a shirt on, Cato. It's not like anyone's there to admire your…"

"My what?"

"Your physical…attributes." I finish awkwardly. He grins and just adjusts his position, making sure that I have an even better view. I try to ignore him and continue. "And aren't you cold?"

"No. You should know, it takes a lot of resistance to cold to be designated as the Fire Girl's human heater. Oh wait. Nevermind, you were just seeing if I could hug better than Lover Boy back then, weren't you?"

But then remember I something Clove told me earlier. "_He never, ever, shows any type of weakness. Ever." _So even if he's freezing to death, which I doubt, he most likely won't say a word.

I roll my eyes at his smirk. "Are you always this obnoxious?"

"Obnoxious? Who, me? Pfft…" Cato waves a hand at me mockingly, voice sarcastic. Then, "I don't know. But if you want me to change my attitude, I can. For you."

"I really think that cockiness is an embedded trait, Cato."

"Oh really, darling. Do you really think so?" Cato's voice drops into a purr, smooth and captivating. He pronounces "darling" like "dahr-ling". Cato looks at me with heavily lidded eyes, lips slowly curling into a smile.

"Um. No, the Finnick Odair approach really doesn't…fit…you." I say. Oh god. Did I really say that? With my luck, Finnick is probably watching at this moment.

"Really…" He continues in an annoyingly seductive chuckle. I'm having a hard time pushing away the fluttering feeling in my chest. I mean, when someone like Cato is half-naked and purposely putting on a smile like that, it's pretty difficult.

"Just…put a shirt on and drop the voice, ok? I can't take you seriously right now."

"Do you really want me to wake Clove? She won't be happy." He says in his normal voice. I look over at the small girl. She is curled up tightly, holding on to something. Cato's shirt.

"No. I don't think that we should wake the sleeping troll right now. We might go deaf from her screams and cause several birds to fall from the sky." I reply.

Cato grins and chuckles quietly. Then he turns those icy blue eyes towards me, studying me.

"You really are weird...I'm in trouble, aren't I?" The words are so quiet, and no matter how hard I try, I can detect nothing sarcastic about them.

What the heck is that supposed to mean? I shoot him a look of confusion.

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

She looks so confused. Just like I am right now.

"Come here." I say softly. When Katniss doesn't move and just keeps staring at me, I bring a hand to my forehead and just hold it there, eyes closed and feeling immensely confused.

"Please, Katniss."

I can hear her getting up and the almost silent steps that bring her closer and closer.

"What do you want?" She sits down next to me.

What_ do _I want? I don't know myself. Nothing makes sense anymore. Nothing. If only I had been there last year, there to save her. If only I knew that she would be waiting for me when I return home. If only I could just forget and move on. If only.

"Sorry. I'm just a little screwed up right now." What the hell. Did I really just admit that? I look at Katniss, who studies me with curious eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

"Aren't we all?"

Cato laughs quietly, but instead of joy there is a bitterness. "Yes. But in that case, I'm more screwed than all of you put together."

_All of you._ All the tributes in the Hunger Games. He sounds so different, so completely different than the smirking boy he was this morning.

As I am about to deliver another sarcastic yet moderately nice line, he suddenly turns his eyes to mine.

"Don't even tell me that I'm not." There is a pause.

"If I was, I wouldn't be doing this." He says quietly, still staring at me.

"Doing what?"

Cato grabs me and gently pulls me towards him, then locks me in a tight squeeze. With my instincts, I immediately start trying to wriggle out of his arms. Then I stop suddenly, realizing that he isn't actually hurting me. He stands up with me still pressed against his half-naked body.

"I'm sorry. But will you let me do this for just a few minutes?" His voice whispers from my left side, and I turn my head slightly so that my line of vision ranges from his bare skin to his cold blue eyes.

I can't say that the feeling of practically being glued to a wall of muscle and smooth skin is unenjoyable, so I just nod as his arms tighten once more.

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

I don't know why I'm doing this. I surprise myself every so often, and this is one of the few times that I feel like I have no control over my body.

Katniss is warm. A little bony and sharp, that's for granted, but also soft. And she reminds me so much of the blue-eyed little girl that had been in this pose so many times before, that something in me aches faintly.

I can feel my arms tightening slightly, and I can feel Katniss' chin digging into my collarbone.

"It's been so long." I murmur, hating myself for letting the wistfulness slip through the words.

"So long since what?" Her voice is just as quiet, a low whisper.

"Since I've actually liked a girl."

Katniss stares at me. "Wait, you like me?"

"Don't flatter yourself. I was just saying that it's been a long time." I answer, not even adding the smirk that the statement calls for.

There's something wrong with me. Something seriously wrong. A few days ago I wouldn't have passed on a chance to snicker my ass off, but right now I just want to drop that whole act.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

I stare at him again, still trying to collect my wits. Everything is happening so fast, it's so confusing. I don't even care that he kind-of denied that he liked me. Or maybe my mind is still trying to process that information and send me thoughts that actually make sense.

"You remind me of someone." He looks perplexed, and in the silver glow of the moon, I can see his eyelashes moving as he blinks.

"_Who?" I ask. _Well, I am about to ask that. But before I can open my mouth, he loosens his grip. I hunch up a little as the cold takes advantage of the sudden drawing away of warmth.

"Not someone you need to be concerned about." He says softly, studying me. I didn't even get a chance to pose the question, and he answers it. Figures.

So I just continue staring, still loosely held by those tanned arms.

"The stars are really nice today, aren't they?" Cato says innocently.

I look up, and as my head is tilted, he removes his right hand from my back and catches my chin. I stay still, now completely and ultimately confused.

Then, so quickly that I almost don't register it, he kisses me.

It only lasts a moment, a gentle press of his lips to mine, but in that fleeting second, I notice so many things that it's almost unbelievable. Like how his nose brushes against mine. Or how his left arm is tight and pulling me towards him again. And the way that he hesitates before slowly removing his mouth, as if he deosn't want to stop.

I am left breathless, eyes wide and staring, staring as always, at the attractive boy with his cool eyes and handsome features only inches away. Mere inches.

And I've never wanted anything more.

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

I couldn't resist. I just couldn't. It's been so long since I've done something like that. Which is why I knew that I _had _to. Just this once, just to stop the dull ache in my chest for a few short moments.

"Ah…geez. Sorry about all this." I manage to pull off a smirk, then quickly shift it to a faint smile when I realize that it's not the time for sarcasm.

Then I quickly move away, making sure that Katniss doesn't fall as her hands disengage themselves from my skin.

I don't know why, but I feel like I should apologize. For what I'm going to do next.

"I'm sorry, Katniss."

Then I walk across the small stretch of lush grass, into the forest. Only then, I break into a run.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

I stare at the place where Cato disappeared, my lips still tingling and my body still warm. The sky is cold, icy and perfect-looking. A little like what I feel right now…and exactly like Cato's eyes, his words, everything about him. So cold and shielded.

I can't even comprehend how he can be so close and yet so far away at the same time.

* * *

><p>...<p>

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I_ spend a lot of time writing, as cheesy as it sounds. Time that I should be spending on homework and schoolwork. But only because I love this story, and I love you guys. If I got no feedback, I would probably only update like, once a year or something. My lovely reviewers always cheer me up whenever my family members are treating me like sh-t, and make me feel so...wanted and happy. For one of the first times in my life. So, thank you. _

_I think that I'll update sometime next week. Or maybe on Sunday or Monday...if I feel like it. I really need to pick up the pace on my other story though, since both need to be done if I want to start the 75th hunger games fanfic. And...some food for thought. For me as well as you guys: What do you think of Clove? Do you like her or dislike her? / Do you think that I should include more action and speed this up a bit, or more fluff and drag it out more? Or balance the two like I've been doing? _

**Anyways, thanks for reading. Please REVIEW! **

_xox-Risa_


	17. Blood and Masks

**A/N: MAY 7th, 2012. _IT'S ALEXANDER LUDWIG'S B-DAY TODAY!_ That's why I spent like, 5 hours finishing this chapter today. Happy Birthday, darling!**

**..**

_Anyways, thank you all SOOOO much for the wonderful reviews and feedback. I tried to get back to as many of you as possible, but I couldn't message all of you, unfortunately. Thank you all though!_

_I really hope that you enjoy this chapter, I spent a lot of time working on it...4 days. And it was 18 pages. Yes, 18 freakin' pages at 10 pt font. *faints*_

_Please enjoy! C:_

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

"Where's Cato? Wasn't he keeping watch?" Clove abruptly sits up, clutching at the t shirt with tight fingers. It's still dark, but birds have already started singing their daily sonatas, hinting that dawn is approaching.

I notice the crazed look in Clove's brown eyes. No, it's not insanity, it's concern. She's worried.

"He left again." I answer gruffly, not in the mood for long sentences. All night I just sat here, by the river, confused and slightly angry. Confused on whether what happened last night was legitimate or just a dream, angry that Cato had simply walked away.

"Did you piss him off or something?"

"No," I growl. How can Clove be so alert this early in the morning? Granted, I'm probably acting like a freakin' sloth because I spent half the night staring at little fish dart around in the river, but it's just unnatural to be wide eyed at three in the morning.

"Start packing everything up. We need to be ready to go at a moment's notice." Clove pushes herself up slowly, and then dramatically stretches.

"A moment's notice?" I've never been good at staying up for extended periods of time, and I find myself meticulously processing each word and piecing them together for something to make sense.

"Yeah," Clove snaps sarcastically. "Did you really think that Cato's going to let us lounge around for another day? I bet that he'll be back before light."

Light is in an hour or two. I am about to question Clove; through experience I've learned that Cato is like an experienced chess player- each move seems random, but every action is carefully calculated and planned. And in the end, it all ties together to ensure the capture of the opponent, to ensure that the death trap is inescapable.

I decide to keep my protests to myself. Besides, Clove obviously believes that she's got everything figured out. She is already tucking knives into her belt and packing one of the new backpacks with vigorous intensity.

I sigh and grumble several intelligible curses under my breath as I kneel down and start rearranging the supplies in the other newly acquired backpack.

But then I realize that Clove might be wrong, and we may just be using up time that could be spent sleeping. I can feel a yawn coming on, and wish that I'd been able to fall into the lull of sleep instead of staring at fish all night. I feel a surge of annoyance at my own simplemindedness.

"Are you sure that he's coming back before dawn?" I stifle a huge yawn and pinch myself hard enough to leave a bruise, to try to stay awake.

Clove laughs, and it sounds incredibly loud in the midst of the quiet, dark morning. Then she turns and looks at me, amusement mixed with smugness in her expression.

"Cato knows very well that the early bird gets the worm."

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

I hate myself.

I feel my fingers brush against a flower stalk and quickly move my hand up to crush the delicate bloom. Things like flowers are useless, just a damn distraction from the real world, a beautiful illusion for the weak.

Then why am I here? I almost choke on a laugh building in my throat. Cato, the cold-hearted killer, someone that hates weakness...sitting in a freaking meadow, thinking about a rash move performed at the height of his confusion.

I hate myself for giving into my emotions, for letting the past overtake me and overpower my logical thinking. And that ridiculous ache that my screwed up mind had interpreted as a gap to fill.

Add all of that to the damn kiss that I foolishly gave the Fire Girl. That damn kiss that meant absolutely nothing to me, just a filler for something long gone.

I crush more of the huge red blooms with my hands- I know that the flowers are red because this is the same meadow that I was in yesterday, and imagine that the petals are people, victims of my wrath.

A sudden burst of scent erupts from another patch of blooms that I reduce to shreds with my fingers.

Then I sit up, and smirk.

Panem has experienced only a few sides of me. The part of me that holds back the violence when I'm with Katniss. The part that can kill without a second thought, let alone a first. And the weak side of me that is fortunately coming across as a romantic aura.

I pick which mask will be on top, hiding everything else. Considering the current situation, I believe that the cold, heartless approach will prove quite useful.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

"Hey there, early bird." Clove snaps when Cato brushes aside a branch and walks into camp. Then to me, "Told you so."

I decide not to talk to him, and pretend to be looking through my backpack for an imaginary speck of dust.

"We're going. Now." Cato's voice is hard, and I look over to see him pulling on his shirt and hoisting up his pack. He doesn't even acknowledge me, and I feel a pang of annoyance. I just can't hold back the scathing words.

"Are we all going? Or is it just you, Cato?"

He looks at me for the first time since he returned. His expression shows nothing, so I search his eyes. Yes, there's something there…but before I can determine what it is, Cato drops his eyes and answers.

"Would you rather it just be me?"

I hate it when he says things like that, where you can't reply without sounding awkward. I open my mouth, and then close it. To make up for the lack of words, I send him a scowl.

"Don't make that face. You're much more pleasant when you smile." He says, tucking several knives and a mace into his belt.

"Nooo…" I shoot back sarcastically.

"Hey, are you sure that you didn't make him mad?" Clove suddenly says, amused.

We both stare at her, and she backs away, hands up in a mock apologetic gesture. Then she smirks.

"Let's go."

The sky is only starting to get lighter when we step into the leaf-carpeted forest. I feel a sense of security here, walking under a canopy of trees with my trusty bow.

Of course, after fifteen minutes of walking at a fast pace, Cato insists that we start running. I should probably expect it, since almost every time that I've been with Cato, he's forced me to sprint at a crazy pace to match his easy run.

…

"Let's play a game…" Clove pants. "To pass the time."

"Like what? Tag?" My breathing is heavy as well, Cato's been driving us for over an hour. The sky is much lighter, but the sun is yet to rise.

"We're not little kids, Fire Girl."

"Aren't all games for little kids?" I retort. I don't point out the the _actual Games_ are just that, a televised bloodfest featuring…wait for it…children.

"Be that way. I'll just play 'Would You Rather' with Cato." Clove dodges a tree root and continues talking between her short breaths.

"Fine, I'll play, just to make it more interesting for you."I quickly say. This could be a good way to find out more about Cato.

"I'm not going to play a freaking game, Clove." Cato snorts, jogging to the right of me.

"C'mon. It's no fun without you."

"Is that so?" But Cato says nothing else, and Clove grins triumphantly.

"Cato...you're in a fight to the death. Would you rather die quickly and painlessly or slowly and painfully?" I think that Clove is being ridiculous... of course he'd want to die quickly.

"Why? Are you planning to mutilate me and watch me bleed to death?" In the dim light I can see that he is smirking. "And you already know which one I'd choose. To die slowly, of course."

Ok...that was unexpected.

"Why slowly?" I ask.

"So that I'll have a chance to fight. Obviously."

Thanks, that totally explained everything.

Cato seems bored when he poses a question to Clove. "Killed by your lover or closest friend?"

I have to hold back a snort. Even while playing a simple game, all the district 2 tributes think about is violence and killing. I really shouldn't be too surprised.

"It would be such an honor to be killed by the all powerful Cato Greene..." Clove says sarcastically. Or maybe she's being truthful.

"Lover or friend?" I ask, watching as trees pass by in a blur.

"As a friend, obviously. He would kill me if I tried to scoot up to him..." Clove's voice draws to a halt as Cato speeds up, his blue gaze focused on something in the distance.

There is a length of silence, through which we can hear the hooting of an owl and the calls of mockingjays. And during that short time, the sky lightens even more, from a blue grey to a light periwinkle. It must almost be dawn.

"Erm. Here's one for you, Fire Girl. Would you rather have Cato, me, or Lover Boy as an ally?" Clove stares at me expectantly. Just to rain on her parade and tone down some of Cato's arrogance, I answer,

"Peeta. He actually kind of _cared about me._ " I put emphasis on the last few words, aiming then towards Cato.

"Then why don't you go slithering back to that skimpy excuse of a partner?" Cato asks coldly.

"Exactly my point. Exactly my point." I mutter, wondering what's gotten into him. I mean, he hasn't been this...obnoxiously mean since training.

Once again, I am unsure if what Cato is really like. But he can be so different at times that it's almost impossible to be sure.

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

I am getting frustrated, we haven't found anything yet, and the sun just broke out from the edge of the arena.

Clove is used to this attitude, she's seen it plenty of times when I had to deal with some sons of bit-freaking jerks back home and when I had to reject some hopeful little girl's offer to give me a massage. But Katniss obviously hates me right now.

"Hey Fire Girl. Climb a tree and look around." I order, disliking the feeling of aimlessly wandering and hoping for luck. Maybe she'll be able to see something irregular from a higher vantage point.

"Yes, your majesty." Katniss replies with bitterness in her voice, and mockingly curtsies. Then she walks over to the tallest tree in our little area of the forest and starts scaling the trunk like a squirrel, finding hand and footholds in places that would never occur to me. Then once she is up on the first branch, Katniss scrambles her way up the tree. Soon I have to tilt my head to be able to see her at all.

I have to hand it to that girl... she really can climb.

Clove is scuffing her boot against a tree root, and makes a quiet remark.

"We could just leave right now. She'd come down from this stupid tree and we'd be long gone."

That's definitely something that I would do to someone. But this someone happens to be Katniss, and for some reason I know that I would feel something other than self-satisfaction if I left her here.

I clench my fist. Again, with those stupid feelings. I need to stop reacting to my emotions and focus on the task of bringing down Lover Boy and that giant from District 11.

"She might be useful, unless you plan to climb some trees." Then, I smirk. "And the view from down here isn't too bad either."

Clove shoots me a look that says _are you freaking serious? _"You don't mean that, do you? She isn't even remotely attractive. And I know for a fact that you appreciate beauty."

She's right, of course. I smirk at her and answer with as much innocence as I can muster without cracking up. "What are you talking about? I was referring to the sunrise, you little pervert."

"Look who's talking. If someone worth your interest were here, you'd be mouthing your face off." Clove snickers. Then she cocks her head to the side and adds, "And you'd probably be hitting up on _that lucky girl_ as well."

I hate how she's always right. I decide not to answer and just send her a smug grin.

"See anything?" Katniss is so high up that we can't even see her anymore, and I have to yell.

There is no answer, and I look to Clove to see if she's heard anything with those cat-like ears of hers.

But she just arches an eyebrow and smiles pleasantly.

"You okay up there?" Maybe she didn't hear me the first time. I cup my hands around my mouth and shout louder.

Still nothing. I stare up into the leaves of the large tree while Clove starts laughing hysterically. I shove her aside roughly, making a mental note to deal with her later.

I step closer to the tree trunk and stare upwards intently, wishing that it was lighter out so that I could see more clearly.

But when Katniss' bow hurtles down like a missile without its owner, I know that there's something wrong.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

"See anything?" Cato's familiar voice barely reaches me, even though he's probably yelling. I'm at the very peak of the tree, on one of the few top branches that can support my weight.

I look around at the huge expanse of land laid out before me. I could see the dark greens of the forest around me, and a few places where the trees thinned out, creating a clearing of some kind. Then, in the middle of the arena is the Cornucopia, the lake, and the huge circular field, of course.

And beyond that, the golden waves of grain.

But there's no sign of Peeta or Thresh. They must be hiding. I open my mouth to answer, to tell Cato and Clove that I'm coming down.

As the words are forming, a hand suddenly clamps over my mouth and a pair of arms roughly pulls me downwards onto a thicker branch.

Being the dignified fighter that I am, I immediately bite down on one of the grimy fingers and try to kick the mystery boy's body off of the branch.

"Ow..stop it, Katniss." The boy sounds annoyed and doesn't let go of me, even though blood trickles from the bite marks that I've made on the inside of his hand, I can taste and smell the warm stuff.

It's Peeta. I turn my head as much as possible, staring at him with narrowed eyes. Peeta's face is so mud-caked that I can barely recognize him, and his hair is an absolute rat's nest.

Just because he's my district partner, it doesn't mean that he can just grab me like this. I start kicking and shouldering him, trying to free my arms, which Peeta has pinned behind my back with his free hand.

I need to get my bow….I need to get my bow…

I whip my head back and hear as well as feel our skulls crashing together. Stupid Peeta. Just let me go already!

He grunts in pain but still has me in a tight clamp. I try another approach and bite at his hand again and try to scratch at his arms with my nails.

"Stop it! Do you want us both to fall off?" Peeta hisses again. Out of the corner of my eye I can see him wincing as my teeth sink into his palm.

"_You ok up there?" _Cato's voice carries up, this time louder. I try to scream through Peeta's hand, but it comes out as a muffled grunt.

I whip my head around quickly, counting on my braid to hit Peeta in the face. It does, but he doesn't budge.

_Let go of me, you freaking buffoon. _I bump my body backwards in an attempt to push him away. But surprise surprise, he still stays motionless, a bleeding hand clamped over my mouth and another holding my wrists around my back.

Finally I stop struggling and go slack.

And watch as Peeta nudges my bow off of my shoulder with his chin. It drops through the branches, and I can hear the snapping sounds.

I stay motionless, although I'm mentally screaming bloody murder.

"Thank god. Don't even try to call that stupid friend of yours…we both know that he can't get to you even if you scream." Peeta sounds relieved at first, and makes the threat in such a friendly voice that I almost can't believe it.

And even though I look like I've given up, I'm really just thinking of a way to get help. And possibly take Peeta down in the process.

So when Peeta's hand restraining my head movement slackens a little, I take the chance to slam my skull into his face again. I can hear a crack. Hopefully it's his nose.

"What the heck? Ow!" Peeta's hand unclamps from my mouth and goes to his nose, which is gushing blood like a waterfall.

I take the chance to scream as loudly as I can.

"CATO! Peeta's up here!" I scream in addition, before being silenced by a knife that suddenly appears at my throat.

"_I'm sending Clove up!" _Cato yells back.

"What the hell, Peeta?" I snarl, trying not to move lest the knife cut my neck off. I can't do anything but keep talking and stall for time.

"You helped that stupid bastard kill Rue!" He growls back.

Oh. Yeah. I did…

"Peeta…please. Don't do this." I try to convince him. _Hurry up, Clove._

"I knew that you would become like them if you joined the alliance. That's why I didn't want you to go with the Careers. And now you've killed a child. A 12 year old child. It's like killing your little sister." Peeta sounds really upset, and I almost feel sympathy. Almost.

But unfortunately for him, it's hard for me to feel bad for his loss when he's holding a freakin' _knife _to my _throat. _

"I really don't want to kill anyone. I really don't. So I'll give you a choice." Peeta continues. "You can become my partner and help me kill all of them, or you can die."

"I'll…" I pause for a moment, pretending to be thinking very hard. "I'll partner up with you." I finally say, forcing my voice to come out choked and full of regret.

"Oh. Ok. Good." Peeta relaxes and brings his knife away from my throat. It's just like him to trust me, just like that. Hah.

"NOT." I elbow Peeta as hard as I can, catching him in the chest. He seems to teeter on the edge of the branch for a short second, then I quickly use both hands to shove him.

.

Peeta slashes wildly at me as he falls, managing to slice at my wrist. Then he is crashing through branches and leaves, crashing and snapping all those branches.

I can hear his yelling become fainter and fainter as he falls towards the ground.

But I don't hear the thump that should announce the event of his body meeting earth. I peer downwards, but being unable to see anything through the lush leaves, I start scrambling down the tree as quickly as possible.

…

When I'm about halfway down, I see him. Peeta seems to have been caught by a large, thick branch, and is on his stomach, grabbing hold of the rough bark. His legs are awkwardly splayed, and I assume that he may have broken or hurt an ankle or something.

I think about going towards him to finish him off, but then I remember that my bow is somewhere on the ground. Maybe broken into beautiful silver pieces.

And my wrist is hurting. It's a very shallow cut, the knife barely skimmed my skin, but there's still some blood.

So I jump onto a branch from the tree directly next to this one and continue downwards.

All the while thinking about how Clove never came to help me. Figures. I growl under my breath and swear to never share any of the meat that I hunt down with her again.

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

"At least you whooped his ass, right?" I put on a tentative smirk as Katniss drops down from the last branch, face scratched up and looking unusually angry.

"Yeah. Do you want a turn now?" She snaps at me. "Thanks for the help up there, Cato. He had a knife to my throat, for your information."

Then she snorts. "As if you even cared."

I blink slowly. I admit it, I had been worried. But I'd never tell her that.

"Clove refused to climb up there. I tried to get her to though," I say, trying not to let any relief or gladness mar the words.

It's the truth. I tried to shove Clove up one of the trunks, but she just sat there, arms crossed. I think that she's scouting the area for food right now. As if she knew anything at all about wild plants.

.

"You didn't care. I know that you didn't." Katniss repeats again. I can see tears brimming in her eyes, and feel something stir inside me. Regret? Guilt? I don't know.

I tell myself that I'm only going to do this once. I'm only going to let my walls down just this once.

"Shhh." I step towards Katniss, who is blinking rapidly, trying to hold back tears. "I did care." I resist from adding _"a little" _to the phrase. Just this once I'll let my walls down. For a few minutes.

"Katniss, don't cry." I say softly, biting the inside of my cheek. God, why do I suddenly want to cheer her up?

She looks at me, and I see her lip quivering slightly. She's fighting to hold back the tears. I know how hard it is to hold back your emotions, to hide what you really want, what you really are feeling.

"I can't believe anything that you say anymore, Cato."

Then she bursts into tears and starts running.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

I feel the hot tears spilling out from my eyes, blurring my vision and creating wet trails down my face. How could he not care? How could he be so indifferent all the time?

I run as fast as I can, one hand trying to brush the wetness away. But the tears keep on coming.

Just when I thought that Cato was warming up to me, he became so cold and distant again. It's like he doesn't trust me with his emotions or feelings.

I've never cried in front of anyone. Not even Gale or Prim. I've always kept the tears in, stoic on the outside to look strong. When Father was killed, I remember staying stone-faced while Prim and my mother cried in the house, filling the small rooms with sadness and loss. Then, that night, I cried myself to sleep with quiet, ever so quiet sobs that I muffled with my pillow.

Then why am I suddenly crying so much? I can't find an answer as I run away from it all. Cato and his cold eyes, his indifference, his smiles and hugs. His kisses. _Everything is just an illusion._

I hear footsteps pounding behind me and distantly register Cato shouting for me. Asking me to come back. Saying that he was sorry.

_None of it matters anymore, Cato. You'll never trust me enough. Never enough. _

I block out his words and stumble forwards into a patch of soft grass. And then I fall to the ground and curl up in a ball and feel myself crying with great sobs that shake my chest.

…

"…Katniss. Katniss. Katniss." I hear a voice repeating my name over and over again, softly and gently.

It is the voice of someone that cares. Someone that worries. I feel tears seeping out of my closed eyes, but they are sparse. I've cried myself out.

"I'm sorry. I really am. I was worried when you were up there. I had to stop myself from climbing that tree and getting you." The voice comes again, filled with sadness and ever so gentle and quiet. Merely a murmur in my confused and dark world.

I don't open my eyes and instead feel another tear making it's way down my cheek. I refuse to look at whoever is talking. Maybe this is a dream. Maybe everything is just a dream. Maybe everything is just an illusion, a temporary distraction from the real world. Maybe…

The murmur seems to fill my mind as it chuckles. "Why the hell am I talking to a sleeping girl? I must be crazy."

I let myself be lulled into fuzzy darkness, guided by the hand that absentmindedly strokes my hair and the warmth that moves closer to my curled up body.

_It's not Cato. It's not him. He doesn't care. He doesn't. _But as the darkness claims me, I know. I know that it is him.

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

I let her sleep. The sky is getting darker already, I've been in this position for the past few hours. At first she slept curled up, tears still making their way out of her closed grey eyes. And I talked to her.

Then gradually the creases in her forehead smoothed, her breathing softened and her body slowly relaxed and uncurled. I gave up trying to talk, and just stared at her.

I let her sleep through as the sun made its way up to the peak of the sky and slowly moved towards the horizon. I didn't dare leave. I didn't dare leave her alone again and have her wake up with no one there. I don't dare leave now either.

Suddenly Katniss shifted position, somehow managing to throw herself onto me in her sleep. I am laying in that little patch of grass on my back, staring up into the trees. Then I hear a rustle and then I feel her head on my chest and her body sprawled out over mine.

If it were anybody other than Katniss, I would be immensely enjoying the feeling and probably thinking of strange things in my own brain. I would probably also be making several jokes regarding a that certain somebody's performance in…ah, nevermind.

But I feel nothing but a slight annoyance. And even _that _dulls when I remember her tears, the tears that I inflicted. So I just sigh softly and feel her heart beat against mine.

_I bet that everyone watching is taking this in the wrong way. _I roll my eyes as her arms move and somehow wrap loosely around my neck. I'm going to have to talk to her about her sleeping habits when she wakes up.

Then I sigh again. What exactly _is _the wrong way?

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

It smells like blood. The coppery scent is the first thing that comes to mind when I wake up. Then I move my head a bit. And…oh…

Oh god. I'm practically on top of Cato, who is sleeping. This is strange…and yet I don't want to move.

But I do. When I carefully draw back my arms from his around his neck, Cato's eyes open, a brilliant blue that practically glows in the darkness.

I'm so confused. Why was I sleeping on top of Cato? Why do I keep smelling blood? And wasn't it still dawn when I slipped into the darkness of sleep?

"You're finally awake." He says. Is it just me, or does his voice sound a little weaker than usual? I scramble off of him, feeling myself blush as he watches me with amusement.

"Uh…" I stare at him as he sits up as well, waiting for answers.

"First of all…do you always move around so much in your sleep? And what the hell were you dreaming about?" He smirks.

"Wait, I was the one who moved? Not you?" I love how we're both answering each other's questions with more questions. Note the sarcastic tone in my voice.

He arches an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure that it was you. I wouldn't pull a move like that on someone like you."

"Someone like me." I repeat flatly. What's that supposed to mean?

"Don't take it that way." Cato quickly realizes what he may have implied, and rushes to clarify the situation.

I decide to disregard _that _comment, and ask my next question. "How long was I asleep?"

He stretches and grins. "Dawn 'til dusk, sleeping beauty." As he speaks, Cato stands up and gets his backpack.

I stare at his shirt, which has a streak of blood down the side. He looks down at the place that I'm looking, and steps towards me.

"Hey, are you hurt?"

I think about what happened before I blacked out…Peeta and the tree, me crying like a child, and then the gentle voice that I heard…that lovely voice and those soft fingers. I tell myself to snap out of the fuzzy memory and hold out my wrist.

The cut is so small and it barely hurts. A scab is already forming.

"No."

Cato throws me my backpack, which he _just so happened _to have with him. And then he hands me my bow, which is luckily still intact.

"I grabbed them when you started running." He explains at my quizzical expression. I take them without hesitating and sling both over my shoulders.

Then I realize that we're missing a key factor…Clove. But it's not like I even _want _to see her right now. Not after the incident where she refused to climb up that tree. I reinforce my mental note to never feed her again.

"Where's Clove? And where are we going?" I ask. I feel like I've missed out on so much, I still don't entirely know how it's possible for me to have slept for that long _and _actually kind-of jumped on someone in my sleep.

"Oh. Her…" Cato laughs shortly. "I just left her and came after you. But I left something to tell her to try to get Lover Boy. You and I are probably going to go for Thresh tonight though."

"Yeah. _That _went well last time." I mutter as we step out of the little dip of grass and into the forest again.

The sun is going down, dipping behind the edges of the arena. Hooray for another night-trek with Cato.

…

I point out the direction of the field according to what I remember from up in the tree, and we start trudging towards it.

As we step over a log almost an hour later, I am suddenly aware of how hungry I am. Cato must be as well, or there must be something wrong with him, because he hasn't said a word about running yet.

"Are you hungry?" I ask. Maybe there are some birds in the trees around here.

"Hmm…maybe."

"Stay quiet, ok?" I'm not sure if I'll be able to see the birds in this darkness, but I decide to try.

We walk some more, and this time my bow is ready in my hands, and I'm looking for the plump black silhouette of one of those large birds.

.

Suddenly Cato stops and draws out his sword. His shoulders are tense, and he turns his head quickly, eyes flicking around the little clearing.

Something is wrong. Someone must be here. I lift my bow and make sure that the arrow is tightly fitted, and get ready to point it at anything that looks sinister or dangerous. But I seem to have trouble deciding which bushes look scariest in the moonlight.

Just then, there is a rustling to our left. We both spin towards it, but I notice that Cato keeps turning his head towards our right as well. He slowly takes about eight different knives from his belt and holds the handles all in his free hand.

Another rustle. Cato is so tense that he is practically ready to spring up on his feet. I look around the clearing wildly, trying to locate the source of the noise.

Cato murmurs in a low voice so that even I have to strain to hear, even though I'm back to back with him.

"Katniss, get behind me."

I shoot him a look and shake my head slightly. So obviously, he doesn't listen to me and steps in front of me.

This time there is a huge rustling to our right. We both spin around and then Cato's hand flashes out.

Knife after knife after knife sail through the air, he is throwing them in all directions. Finally as the last one hits the ground, Cato narrows his eyes.

"Who's there? Come out and fight." He quickly grabs another dozen knives from his belt. I wonder how many he had stuffed in there, but immediately bring my attention back to the situation.

And then the figure emerges from a bush, several knives in hand. The knives that Cato had thrown moments before. The boy wears a determined look.

Peeta versus Cato. Suddenly, I feel like I'm about to throw-up.

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

"Lover Boy. What a surprise. I thought that you'd gotten your ass kicked this morning." I feel a smirk lighting on my face. This is a joke. Does he really think that he can go up against me?

For some reason Lover Boy doesn't seem afraid. I find this strange, but go along with it.

He stares at Katniss and speaks. "I'll give you one last chance, Katniss. Join me now or never." I have to hold back a snort and a snickering fit that seems to suddenly want to overtake me. Is this some type of freaking drama show? Seriously…_now or never? _

Katniss takes no time snarling back a reply, "Never." I give him a look of triumph that clearly says _I've taught her well. Suck it._

"Why do you even want to be on his side? I thought that you were in love with me, Katniss." He sounds pathetic, but the sad thing is that he actually seems to believe it himself.

"Sorry Peeta, but honestly…no." Katniss sounds disgusted, and I smirk. It would be so easy to end his insignificant little life right now, but I like to be entertained.

"Unfortunately she's already taken. Sorry." I smirk at him. He whips his head towards me and frowns, instinctively raising his knives. _My_ knives until a few moments ago.

"By who, you damn jerk?"

I roll my eyes and smirk even more. This is too hilarious.

"Who do you think?" I say, grinning.

Then I grab Katniss and press my lips onto hers hard, making a show of holding it out for several long seconds.

When we separate, Katniss and Peeta both look they've just had heart attacks. Katniss quickly composes herself though, and raises her bow once again, just shooting me a glance full of confusion. But Peeta just stands there, mouth hanging open.

He points his knives at her, and then at me, still gaping. "You…him…_that's _why you wouldn't leave them?"

"Well we know what sides we're on now, don't we?" I interject lightly. Then I charge forwards at him, weapons in hand.

He runs forwards as well, more prepared than I had thought. I throw a knife at his chest, but it bounces off for some weird…reason. But there's no time for me to stop. I try again.

Now I thrust my sword at his shoulder, and feel a hard plate underneath his clothes. Strange. I try for his arms, and find that they're mostly unprotected. As my sword point pierces his forearm, he also stabs his knife at me.

I ignore the sudden pain in my shoulder and focus on trying to cause him enough pain to stop him or to cause him to bleed to death.

My whole life I've experienced pain. Lived through it. _Strived _because of it. Loved seeing it. I've been trained to resist pain. He hasn't.

But he has armor, and I don't.

I lunge forwards again, slicing at his ankles and arms as hard as I can and watching as his dark shirt becomes even darker with sudden blood.

Lover Boy seems to know that I'm targeting his weak spots, and starts shifting his body so that my blows deflect off of the damn armor.

"And for a second I thought that you were actually going to fight like a real man." I snarl as one of his knives slices open my old wound.

That familiar red haze covers everything again, but I somehow disregard it, and it slowly fades away. I can't be reckless right now. Each stroke of my sword and each stab needs to be precise now. I can't afford to miss. Not when he's simultaneously slicing at my chest and arms.

I feel the blood dripping from my shoulder and use the flat of my blade to deflect several of his wild slices.

He uses his other hand to try to stab my arm, and I quickly raise a knife to block _that _side as well.

And we are frozen for a moment, him with his armor and inexperienced stabs; me with no armor and my well-practiced blows. It should be obvious to which side has the advantage. If only I had eaten something earlier. I can feel the emptiness in my stomach and the energy quickly seeping out of my limbs.

I quickly use a foot and sweep it under the smaller boy, knocking his legs out from under him. Then I launch my body onto his, sitting on top of him. I pin down one of his wrists with a knife, I can hear the blade going through the flesh and sinew, and hold the other wrist down with a hand.

Lover Boy cries out in pain, and I can see the blood spilling out from his limbs. His arms are in shreds, and I almost feel sympathy for him. I mean, I wouldn't want to be beaten like that either.

"Any last words?" I growl, lifting my sword in a position to cut his jugular vein.

He stares at me with so much hatred in those beady blue eyes of his. "Yes." I smirk, waiting for whatever he had to say.

"HELP! FOR RUE!" I snicker at his screams. What the hell?

Then I feel something pierce my back, and turn towards the direction it came from.

And there stood the giant from 11, his arm still in throwing position. I stare at the knife in my back and almost laugh. I can't be killed _that _easily.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

I watch as the dark red liquid starts pouring, and I mean _pouring _out of Cato's back, and am horrified for a split second. Then I turn to Thresh, who is retrieving another knife from his backpack, almost at a leisurely pace.

He's going to kill Cato if he throws a few more of those. The blade is lodged pretty deep in Cato's back.

Peeta is on the ground, watching with eyes full of fear at the sword that hovers inches above his neck. Cato seems to be having trouble controlling the arm with the sword in it, his shoulder is bleeding freely.

I point my bow at Thresh and pull back. He is posing to throw another knife, eyes glinting in the moonlight. Cato stabs downwards, I release my arrow, and Thresh throws his weapon at the same time. I watch as the arrow whizzes through the air, as if cutting through water. The male tribute from District 11 looks towards me with surprise, but I can see that he is not fatally wounded by the arrow in his shoulder.

Time seems to speed up again, and I watch in horror at the scene in front of me. The cannon booms loudly in the distance. Thresh dashes away, a dark blur in the trees. But I am scrambling towards the two figures in the middle of the clearing, frantically hoping that it isn't too late.

Because they both crumpled to the ground at the same time.

* * *

><p><em>Edited AN: Please leave a review! I'd love to hear what you think so far. Maybe I'll update sometime this weekend if you guys really want me to. :)_

_And relax...do you honestly think that I would kill my lovely darling, Cato? Pshhh...-snorts-_

_Lots of love, and please review,_ -Risa xox


	18. Lost

A/N: Hello everyone! I'm sorry that I wasn't able to update sooner, but my computer has been crashing a lot these days. That, and I wanted to put extra effort and try to improve the quality of my work. I've been reading some other Katniss/Cato fanfics, and I can't help but notice how immature and child-like my story is compared to theirs. I know that this is my first fanfic and that I'm really just a kid at 13 years old, but I really do want to improve. So hopefully this chapter is better than my previous ones.

Also I want to thank all my reviewers and supporters, you've really been wonderful. To my anonymous reviewers-anon, geranium08, Flyere, Mace, Sophie, Mia, Anonymous, Anon, Priscilla X. Silver, scoco, Me, Hungergamesaddict, Jez, cupcake16, thank you so much. And to Anon (did you really stay up til 4 am?) and Honest Reviewer (thank you for the nice critique, I am working on improving).

Lastly, are there any pairings that you would like me to write fanfics about? I'm going to write a Catching Fire fanfic after this one is complete, but I also want to try some new things. Seriously, I want to improve and develop some time of style so badly. And I know, I shouldn't be swearing and implying dangerous themes in my writing especially since I'm so young, but reading so many fanfics with sexual themes and swearing has affected me quite a bit...so, sorry about that.

I hope that you enjoy the chapter and hopefully decide to leave a review. Thank you all once again for being such darlings. *hugs*

* * *

><p><strong>-Chapter 18: Lost-<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

I remember once when I was walking home from school with Prim, when she suddenly tripped and fell on her knees. I frantically crouched down so that I was at eye level with her, and asked if she was ok. When she didn't respond at first, I remember the worry that I felt. Even though Prim only scraped her knees, I carried her home like I would a rather large deer...but that's not the point.

I can't say that I feel the same fierce protectiveness as I sprint towards Peeta and Cato, but rather a fear. In my mind, I see the image of Prim on the ground and experience the same intense worry.

And the worse thing is that I know that Cato is seriously hurt. He may even be dead. I choke back a sob as I slip on a pool of blood and skid towards the fallen figures in the scarlet stained grass.

When I see the knife protruding from Peeta's neck, I feel better. That definitely killed him. And as much as I hate myself for thinking it, I'm immensely glad. Glad that the cannon didn't announce Cato's death, and rather Peeta's.

Now I am closer, I can see Cato's chest moving up and down with ragged breaths. I drop to my knees and carefully roll him onto his stomach. Usually I would be worried about sanity, the grass is completely covered with blood- but now none of that matters as of right now.

I survey the damage and wince in his sake. The first knife went about four inches deep. The second is in his shoulder, and.._.oh god_. Only about an inch of the silver blade is still visible. I decide that I should probably deal with the deeper wound first. I grab hold of the handle and quickly pull the knife out, wincing at the suction-like noises. I don't know how to treat stuff like this...but I assume that I should clean it and bandage it of all things. There seems to be no water nearby, so I take out my water bottle and pour some of the cool liquid onto a cloth, and dab at the blood gingerly.

The moon is not full, so I have to strain to see clearly. If only I had a flashlight with me...I think that Clove has a few. Clove. I hope that she's searching for us.

"CLOVE! CLOVEEEE!" I yell her name as loudly as I can, while wiping at the cut. Cato groans and moves a little before falling silent again. I have to work quickly, there's not even time to build a fire, even though the night air is getting cold.

Cato's shirt is getting in the way, and seeing that it's already ripped up and bloody, I carefully cut it away from his body. All his injuries seem to be on his upper body anyways. _Oh Clove. Please come._

I put a bandage on the clean wound and start working on the other one. I sincerely hope that Cato can't feel any of this right now, these look painful.

Finally as I'm bandaging the shallower knife wound, I hear the pattering sound of light footfalls. I call out to help Clove locate us. When she bursts into the clearing, The brunettes eyes are wide. She runs towards us and flings herself down next to me.

"Oh my god. What happened? Is he hurt really badly?" She rummages around and pulls out a lantern, which she flicks open. It creates a dim circle of yellow light.

"Peeta and Thresh were apparently working together, and then Cato took a few knives to the back. The wounds are pretty bad." I answer worriedly, rolling him back onto his back. There's nothing but several shallow cuts running across his arms and chest, and I quickly take care of them.

Clove gathers all the weapons lodged in the grass, stuck in Peeta's body, and laying beneath bushes as I work. Finally Cato is all bandaged.

"We should move to an area where there's water." Clove says. She carefully loops her hands under Cato's arms, and I grab hold of his legs.

"He's really heavy, just to warn you." She says. I nod, obviously he is. Muscle weighs more that fat. And...it turns out that we can't even lift Cato more than a few inches, let alone several hundred feet.

"You go look around for someplace to bring him, I'll wake him up," Clove decides. Seeing my indignant expression, she gives me a glare.

"He's going to be able to walk, I know that for a fact."

...

When I scurry back to tell Clove about a place nearby where there was easy access to a stream, I am greeted by not one, but two pairs of eyes. Cato looks dangerously pale, and his face is blank. For all I could know, he might be in unexplainable amounts of anguish, and it wouldn't show. He manages to give me a weak grin.

"I feel like I've been stampeded by a herd of cows," he says, slowly pushing himself up. Clove and I simultaneously rush forward to help, but he stares at us, daring us to even try. We immediately stand back, respecting his wishes.

Finally he is standing, and although I see his face nearly break into a grimace or frown several times, Cato maintains some form of the emotionless expression.

"You do know what a cow is, correct?"

I nod, there was a merchant who owned a few cows back home. He made a living selling the milk. Cows milk was a huge luxury in the Hob, and I think that I've only tasted it once at a particularly special Victory Tour feast, when some of the townspeople were invited. Gale's mother brought home a small cup of the creamy white milk, and let me have a sip after he and his siblings had all tasted. But Cato and Clove, being from such a wealthy district, must have had real milk often.

"I just thought that maybe they only have them in the wealthier districts." Cato explains, completely serious.

"At least you're not smirking." I mutter. Of course, Cato proceeds to curl his lips up into a half smirk once he hears the words.

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

They look so worried, their foreheads creased and hands reaching out towards me, as if they want to help me. Clove even starts tearing up when she wakes me, but then quickly wipes her hand across her eyes before I can comment. I wish that they would keep those tears inside, like I've done for the past decade. Because when I see their eyes filled with all that emotion and hear the relief in those voices, I can almost let myself believe that I am capable of caring about them that much as well.

"Where to, lovelies?" I keep my voice light and push away the groan that is fighting to escape my lips. I mustn't show weakness. I must never show that I'm in pain…for pain is of the remaining things in this world that I trust, that I know is real.

And when Katniss slowly starts walking towards our destination, looking back worriedly; and when Clove silently brushes against my side just enough for me to lightly lean on her, I cling to the pain. I can feel its tendrils spreading across my body with every step, blossoming out from spots on my arms and back, but still I hold on to the intenseness of it all.

I've learned to control it, master it, cause it. But now I must bear it. I still remember my first day in the training center, a thought that makes me involuntarily cringe. Clove glances at me with worry, and I shake my head slightly and sink back into my thoughts. I was so small and terribly weak then, an innocent eight-year old with no worries but a multitude of dreams, plans, hopes. All regarding the Hunger Games and how I would win gloriously and someday be known across all of Panem. And as I stood before the stone building that day, I vowed that I would be the best of them all.

But I had never known that it would be so incredibly difficult to build up the resistance, the strength, the speed, the ability to fight. So many hours I sat on one of the benches on the edge of the training room, eyes wide as I watched the older boys handling swords and knives like they were nothing. I wished that I could join them, but my skimpy child's body couldn't keep up. I don't remember really trying until a few weeks later, when I overheard two mentors whispering to each other.

As I walk forwards, Clove still at my arm, I am lost in the memory, the day is still crystal-clear in my mind.

_Stone walls and huge arched windows that let natural light flow into the room. The sound of shouting and grunts of exertion. Laughing and talking and the smell of sweat and hard work. The feeling of the wooden bench underneath my legs, which I don't swing to and fro like other children do, but instead keep still as I watch two older boys wrestle on a mat._

_I want so badly to be strong and big like they are, and although they always let me try to throw their knives or push them down, I can't. I feel spiteful of myself, physically incapable of the brutal fights that I mentally engage in. No one else my age is here other than this tiny little dark-haired girl that glares at everyone including me from her perch on a bench on the far side of the room. I think that her name is Clove, she's in my grade._

_I turn towards two mentors who break off from a group of boisterous boys with curious, wide eyes. I wonder what they are talking about, but remain seated, knowing that it is disrespectful to try to understand the matters of adults. So instead I strain my ears, nearly falling off the bench with the effort._

"…_Velorum Greene's son is that one sitting there, ain't it?" I barely catch the wisp of conversation, and listen more intently._

"_Yes. Apparently Enobaria thought that he showed promise. I don't know, he hasn't done much so far. And he's so serious all the time, I've never seen a smile light that angelic little face."_

"_Maybe his time to shine will come. Soon, or there's no point in keeping him here." I feel my heart freeze. I don't want to leave, if I do, there'll be no chance of me winning the Hunger Games, ever. I immediately hop off of the bench and run towards a boy closest to me, begging for a chance to try throwing a knife._

And that's how it all started. I spent all my free time in that stone building, testing myself and slowly growing stronger each day. But throughout it all there was pain, suffering and hard work, hours upon hours of pushing myself to do more, to be the best. And in the end it was all worth it. Ten years of training and District 2 produced a future victor.

"Cato? You there?" Cloves sharp voice interrupts my thoughts, and I snap my head up, biting my lip as a sudden jet of agony rips through my back. I haven't been paying attention to where we are going.

"Yeah." I look around and see unfamiliar surroundings. We are in a meadow filled with tiny wildflowers, and in running through the grassy clearing is a small stream.

"Clove, you make a fire. I'm going to go hunt down some meat." Katniss takes charge of the situation, dropping my and her backpacks with a crash and picking up her bow. I sincerely hope that the crash wasn't any of my weapons breaking. I know that I'll need as many of them as possible to take down the last opponent. District 11.

Which reminds me of the plight that I've pushed away and ignored for all these days. After killing District 11, I'll have to decide. I'll have to decide the inevitable.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

Clove blinks at my orders defiantly, but then looks down at Cato and scurries into the forest to gather a few logs of wood that can sustain us an entire night.

I take a moment to straighten the feathers on my three remaining arrows- for all I know, the mussed up feather on that one that I shot at Thresh was what made me miss his heart- , and stuff them into my belt.

Then I turn to leave. But before I enter the forest, I glance back at Cato, who is staring up at the stars like he always does before he falls asleep. I feel like an intruder to see him at his weakest, lying there alone with blood-stained bandages covering his body. And what scares me the most is what I see in his eyes. Nothing. There's absolutely nothing…they are hollow and empty.

I tear my gaze away from Cato's blank eyes and injured body, hoping to forget about it once I start hunting. I hate seeing him like this all the time, hiding the pain and forcing himself to look like he feels nothing when he actually might just be dying inside.

"You don't have to hide everything, Cato." My voice is low and slightly bitter. I pause for a second, waiting for a response. But of course, there is just silence. The crickets chirping in the underbrush and the wind breezing through the trees even seem to take a breath, suddenly quieting.

I sigh and take another step forwards, then I feel tears starting to well up in my eyes, another reminder of how gentle he was when I was half-asleep this morning. Another bittersweet reminder of those kisses that I can almost still feel, one cold and quick, another hot and gloriously long. Complete opposites, just like Cato's different sides are. One moment he is looking at me with gentleness and talking softly, another moment his eyes harden and there is suddenly a cold edge to his entire being.

As I rush forwards, away from the meadow and into the darkness of the forest once more, Cato suddenly speaks, and I whip my head around to look at him. He is sitting up, and our eyes meet. His are full this time, full of different emotions that flash through the cool blue depths within seconds. Cato gives me a hesitant smile that momentarily alights his pale face.

"This _is_ everything, Katniss." I watch as his smile fades and his eyes stop dancing and return to their cold, hollow state. I stare at them and find anguish hidden behind the wall that separates us. The wall that will always prevent me from getting closer.

A sob racks through my body and I still feel those wistful eyes on my back as I leap away.

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

I stare at the trees for a moment more before laying down again, tired. I made her cry again. For the second time in a day. But I can't show Katniss any more of myself than I already have. The fear that I will lose myself to weakness is what motivates me to put up that barrier.

The pain I feel is somehow more tolerable than her tears. I can ignore my body, block out its needs and dull my desires. But I can't stop her from crying. I can never do what she wants me to, by hiding everything, I am hiding myself. My dark needs and unspeakable recollections.

As I wait for Clove to return with the firewood, I slip into another memory that somehow fights its way out from under my oppressing will. It's funny how the very thing that I dread to remember is of the happiest time of my eighteen years. A time when I thought I had it all.

I lift my body up and slam it back into the ground, counting on the discomfort to override the images of rain and sapphire eyes, smiles and laughs.

"If you need to distract yourself, I'm always available." Clove says as she trudges up to me with a load of timber. "And if you keep doing that, you'll never heal enough to kill District 11."

I growl and send her a look of annoyance. "I'm well aware of what I'm doing, Clove."

"Uh huh. Totally." She lights a fire and refills all the water bottles, then hands me mine. "I can't believe that you actually let that freaking giant get you. And fighting Lover Boy wasn't _that _hard, was it?"

I grab it with my left hand and take a swig, wishing that Lover Boy had stabbed this shoulder instead of my other one. Of course that coward had to go for my already injured arm and reopen a wound that was closing up as well as rendering it useless with that knife.

"Lover had armor on, and I wasn't exactly in top shape because _somebody _ate all the damn bird last night. That, and the giant attacked from behind and I would have rather him get me than Lover Boy. " I roll my eyes but stiffen a little when she lightly punches me in the arm, her fist connecting with a the surface of a bandage. She stares at my face eagerly, searching for something.

"You're never going to show how much pain you're in, are you?" Clove continues watches me with interest as she drains half her water bottle in one long session of gulping.

"Have I ever?" I reply. A sharp pain attacks two places on my back at the same time as the word comes out of my mouth, and I twitch my shoulder but keep a straight face.

"Cato...you're freaking crazy. I know for a fact that you're feeling like shit." Clove pokes at my arm with a finger, and I let myself wince slightly. She smiles, satisfied. "And these are definitely not going to heal right without some type of ointment or something fancy."

"You don't say..." I roll my eyes. And then we are both up and alert, looking intently into the sky. Nothing appears, and Clove offhandedly makes a remark.

"It would be _such_ a shame if you died from your injuries, Cato _Such a shame_." She shakes her head dramatically, making tsking sounds with her tongue.

I normally wouldn't go asking for something like this, but I can't help but smirk and play along.

"Yes. And all my sponsors would be ridiculed because their tribute failed. I wouldn't want anything of the sort to happen, but..." I catch Cloves eye and she grins.

I grin back as we look up again to see a distant silver object floating, or rather - parachuting through the starry sky. It hits the ground on the other side of stream, and Clove jumps across to retrieve it. She dutifully brings it to me, but I can see that she's itching to open the metal parcel.

"Go ahead, open it." Before the words are out of my mouth, Clove is already eagerly fiddling with the cartridge, popping the latches open with a snap. She reminds me of a child opening a present, tearing at the wrapping paper and yanking on the ribbons.

"Wow. You're sponsors really love you, it seems." I slowly turn my head towards her. She is carefully lifting a syringe out of the container. Then she throws me a note that is also inside.

"Is that a painkiller?" I ask wearily. The pain that I felt earlier seems to be only a sliver of what really is, since I now feel as if arrows are driving into my body.

"It's…hydroxyphenyl tycidylml acetamide, technically. So I'm not sure. Maybe you should look at the note." Clove brings the little syringe up to her face, squinting to see the tiny lettering.

Pulsating jets of the same intense agony shoot down my arms and back, and I close my eyes tightly for a second before taking a deep breath and meticulously unfolding the slip of paper.

_"This will take effect in under an hour, causes drowsiness. We can't afford medicine, hang in there for a bit. It's time to choose. Clove. No need to act anymore with 12. –Enobaria."_

I let out an exasperated breath and send a look of pure annoyance into the sky. "What does it say?" Clove sticks her face into mine, and I quickly throw the note into the fire, not wanting her to know about Enobaria's opinion on who I should choose.

"Hit me up." I simply reply, ignoring her question. I hold out an arm and watch the fire slowly eating and blackening the edges of the paper until all that is left is ash.

She grabs the arm carefully and positions the needle above my bicep. Then she plunges down, pushing the end of the needle until every drop of the translucent solution drains into my bloodstream. I stare at the silver needle, unable to detect the prick and instead needing to watch the point enter my skin to acknowledge it.

_In under an hour_. I hope that the solution takes effect quickly, for the first time I find the thought of sleeping and dreaming welcome. I need to escape, if only until morning.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

"You missed him. He just fell asleep a few minutes ago." Clove says softly when I return to the meadow with several birds in my hands and my eyes immediately are drawn to Cato's still figure. I let out a relieved breath when I detect the rise and fall of his chest and walk forwards to drop the bodies of the fowls.

"But he needs to eat…" My voice trails off as I try to recount that last time that I'd seen Cato consume any type of solid food. I can't even remember…oh yes. That night when he and Clove can back from their little trip to terminate the District 3 boy. He had a loaf of bread. A single loaf of bread in several days.

"Don't wake him, the painkiller is taking effect right now." Clove hisses, glaring at me. I notice the silver material that sponsor parachutes are made of, bunched up near the fire. A sponsor must have sent him something. Apparently some type of concoction to dull pain.

Lucky…I bet that if it was me laying there, the most I would get would be a thermos of soup or something. Then again, Cato is the obvious tribute to sponsor, he can survive and thrive. He can kill without batting an eyelash, and he hasn't been anything but strong and impenetrable throughout these few days.

I sit down and start plucking all the feathers off of the spotted bodies of the birds, watching as a breeze lifts them up and blows them away, reminding me of dandelion seeds or silver parachutes. As I find a long, narrow branch and string the carcasses upon it, I think about Peeta's armor. Where did he get it? There's a feeling in my gut that tells me that Haymitch sent it to him. Haymitch, who always seemed to like Peeta best. I don't blame him, I'm a devil compared to Peeta; but I still don't think it fair that my mentor hasn't sent me a single thing, while that single piece of armor must have cost our sponsors a small fortune.

"Clove?"

"What?" Clove is staring at the roasting meat with a hungry expression, her eyes huge and glittering and her mouth slightly open. "I mean, what do you want, Fire Girl?" She quickly snaps close her mouth, but still continues to be transfixed with the meat.

"How do you bear to be with him all the time?" I ask, staring at Cato as he sleeps with bandages covering half his back.

"Cato, you mean?" When I nod, Clove continues with a smirk. "I would rather say that he bears being with _me_."

"Seriously. I can hardly understand him sometimes." I repeat, exasperated.

"Well, that's your problem. Cato's not meant to be understood. He hides things for his own reasons, and his reasons are _always _right." Clove's eyes are narrowed, and her voice has the edge of a hiss to it, as if she is ready to defend her statement at all cause.

"And you're not annoyed when he keeps everything pent up inside and just shows you one of his blank faces?" My voice is rising in volume, and I lower it to a furious whisper.

"First of all, he does _not _always act like a stone wall. And second, why the hell would I be annoyed? I wish that I could do that and just shut everyone out." Clove pauses for a breath, glaring at me. "And I wish that I could pull off all those different expressions and fake my feelings like he does."

I stare at the girl in front of me, a tiny brunette with eyebrows furrowed together and lips pressed tightly. And I decide to repeal my vow to let her starve, Clove certainly deserves some food for that nice little outburst that confirmed what I already knew about Cato, as well as telling me more. So Cato can forge expressions now, can he? I wonder if everything that I've seen him do is a lie.

I quickly rinse off the grime and blood from my hands in the stream before I remove the meat from the fire. I pull of one of the birds and hand it to Clove, who grabs it and then winces as the hot meat burns her hand. I watch in amusement as she throws it up in the air, cursing under her breath. Finally she finds a clean piece of cloth and wraps the meat in it, taking large bites rapidly. I chew on a small piece of my bird slowly, arching an eyebrow as she nearly chokes on a bone in her haste.

"Hungry much?" I smirk. Clove looks at me when I speak, before going back to her food with a dismissive eye roll.

I honestly think that despite her body size, she has a larger appetite than Cato and I combined.

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

When I wake it is almost dawn, and Katniss and Clove are talking, with limited amounts of snorting and eye rolling, with is an immense improvement.

There is a familiar numb feeling in my arms and across my chest, I remember a few months ago Enobaria "accidentally" sliced her sword across my chest when training and I had been given a similar painkiller.  
>I realize that I haven't properly shown gratitude for the parachute, and mouth "thank you" slowly, staring at the sky. Then I send my sponsors one of my most winning smiles before sitting up. Both of the girls' backs are to me, so I am unnoticed as I absorb our surroundings. There is a pile of blood stained knives next to the small fire.<p>

"...and then he was like, 'A massage...that would be nice. But unfortunately my bed isn't large enough for more than one person. Sorry.' " Clove is enthusiastically telling Katniss about a certain incident that happened recently.  
>"Of course the pathetic little girl started blushing like crazy and ran away while we cracked up."<p>

I roll my eyes, I still remember the girl stammering out her apologies while I just stood there, smirking. Good times.

"Are those my knives over there?" I bring my mouth up to Clove's ear and speak in a purr that somehow comes instead of the growl I intended it to be. "Why aren't they clean?"

"Feeling better, Cato?" She doesn't even turn towards me or answer my questions, but I know that she must be at least a little concerned. On the other hand, Katniss has a relieved expression on her face, although there is also a wary look in her eyes.

"If being numb is better, than yes."

"Eat this." Katniss hands me something wrapped in a piece of cloth. I unwrap it and find a roast bird, the type of bird that she's been hunting ever since she obtained her bow.

"All of it?" I look down at the browned skin with distaste. It'll probably be flavorless and dry, my least favorite taste.

"Don't be an idiot, of course you need to eat all of it. Aren't you hungry?" Clove stares at me in disbelief, then her face brightens. "Actually, I'll have it if you don't. They're not too bad, I already had two."

"You're going to be so fat and slow today, Clove. Don't eat so much while we're in here. Save your appetite for things worth your time." I rip off a leg and slowly take a bite, nearly grimacing at the blandness of it all.

"Oh yeah. I forgot that you only eat fancy stuff. Or maybe your mouth is numb too, because it honestly tastes decent."

"It tastes like cardboard." I reply shortly between the tasteless bites. They are both staring at me, eyes narrowed, and I have a feeling that they will attempt to force-feed me if I don't consume the entire bird. So I slowly eat through both legs and the two wings before putting the remainder down.

"Happy now?"

When Katniss opens her mouth to deliver a furious response, Clove cuts in. I smirk my thanks to her.

"He's not going to eat any more even if he's starving, so don't even try. Because apparently Cato only eats things that taste good to _him_."

I walk towards the stream and splash my face with the cold water, and retrieve all my knives and rinse the blood off before inserting them into my belt. When I turn back to the fire, Clove is stuffing her face with the rest of my meat.

"Fat little…" I mutter, rolling my eyes at her cheeks, which are bulging with food. She looks like an obese chipmunk. I think about telling her that, but then decide against it. I walk back and sit down a few feet away from Katniss and the air of caution that exerts from her and her wide grey eyes.

"I'll change your bandages." She finally says, getting up. I blink but say nothing and wait as she retrieves a roll of gauze and wets several cloths.

I remember sitting on a bench in the training center back home, gritting my teeth but otherwise showing nothing as Enobaria dressed a wound that she may or may not have inflicted. It seemed like every few weeks or days I found myself staring down at my hands as her rough hands applied ointment and what not to various cuts and scrapes.

A smile almost appears as I compare Katniss' light touch to Enobaria's heavy pats, and the almost inaudible sharp intake of air that the girl behind me makes with the guffaw that my mentor made as she saw the size of the wound and searched my face eagerly for signs that I was in pain. Of course, I never gave her the privilege of seeing her star pupil acting like a weak idiot.

"It's not _too _bad…" She trails off and I feel another bandage being peeled off of a blood-covered patch of skin. When she dabs at it with a wet cloth, I can feel a faint stinging through the fading numbness that the pain-killer brought.

"Is it opposite day? First Clove tells me that the meat tastes good, now you're lying about the severity of my injuries." I smirk. Then knowing that she and Clove just wanted to make sure that I was alright, I quickly flash a playful smile in Katniss' direction and am rewarded with her scowl loosening a bit.

As the effect of the syringe slowly vanishes she dabs away all the blood, and I allow myself to wince once as water seeps into the wound on my back that seems to be the deepest, from the feel of it. Then Katniss retrieves a tub of something from her backpack, and when she brings it over I see that it is the burn ointment that Enobaria sent in a few days ago. She unscrews the cap and applies a coat of it with her finger onto the cut on my shoulder. It stings for a moment before bringing cool relief.

"That's a good idea…" I murmur as the coolness takes effect and she wraps bandages around my chest and arms. "Thank you."

…

"Thank you." Cato says as he visibly relaxes. I tie the last knot on a bandage, and then rinse out the blood from the cloths in the stream.

"Damn it!" I quickly turn at the sound of Cato's urgent voice. He is muttering curses over and over under his breath and looks annoyed.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"We should have taken Lover Boy's armor. It would have been so useful." He is frowning and still swearing softly.

Now that I think about it, taking Peeta's armor would have probably been the sensible thing to do. But I my thoughts had been so consumed with worry that I hadn't even considered the idea at the time. And now it was most likely gone, unless they dropped it from the hovercraft once Peeta's body had been picked up, it's happened a few times in previous years when a valuable sponsor gift is found on a dead body.

"I'll go check, if you want." Clove offers. "Ha, told you he doesn't always act like a wall." She directs the second part of her statement towards me, and I roll my eyes.

"Yeah, go. And what was that about a wall?" Cato arches an eyebrow, and Clove scrambles up and runs into the trees.

The sun is just rising, and a pale orange hue washes over the meadow. And we are alone, for the umpteenth time since we've entered the arena. I think about how easily he launched into battle last night, fighting like a wolf, merciless and quick. He is a killer, someone who's trained for their entire life for these moments to shine. And shine he has. After watching the annual Hunger Games throughout my life, I know that sponsors and individuals alike support the tributes that are strong physically and mentally. I can only imagine how much support Cato has riled up so far, with his annoyingly irresistible personality and good looks, combined with those merciless eyes and cold strength.

I'm not sure which side of him I should hold on to and believe, the cold expression that pushes all attempts to get past away, the conceited smirking side, or the rare part of him that actually acts like a normal person.

"Very well, just continue ignoring me while I try to get your attention." The voice is distant, as if coming in a dream, and I quickly snap out of my thoughts and turn towards Cato, who is looking at me expectantly.

"What?" He must have been calling my name for quite a while now.

"Did you really not care for Lover Boy at all?" If it were anybody else, I would assume that they were jealous, but Cato's probably just curious. A small smirk is flicking over his face, as if he is deciding whether or not to hold it out. I decide to play his card by acting all elusive and not answering the question at first.

"Why, are you jealous?" I send him a hopefully convincing mysterious glance.

"That's another thing to add to your wish list," he smirks, and I drop the mystery act and find myself rolling my eyes.

He continues casually, "No, I was just worried that you'd sink into depression or something."

_Yeah right. _I send him a question of my own, making sure that I don't give away anything in my tone. It's harder than I thought, with me usually being blunt and to the point. For a moment I grudgingly give credit to Cato for his ability to hide his true feelings.

"And I'm apparently_ 'taken'_ by a certain _somebody_…" I pause and tilt my head and send a pointing glare towards Cato, and he returns it with another smirk.

"I only said that to see what his expression would be." The same easy smile is on his face, and I wish that I could either believe or reject his words, but it's impossible to tell. God, he is so infuriating sometimes.

"So did you get the reaction that you wanted?" I snarl as I feel my face fall. And there I was, thinking that he actually meant that stuff. Or maybe he did. I frown at him.

.

"God. I really need to stop upsetting you…sorry." He brings a hand to his face and sighs. The sun has appeared over the trees now, but Clove left only a few minutes ago.

"How can I know that you're not just acting? Don't apologize." I spit out, getting up. I walk away from him and stand by the stream, looking down at a fish fighting it's way up the current.

"Katniss, I'm seriously sorry. Please…" I don't look at him but hear him getting up. The fish is slipping between two rocks now, still swimming furiously to try to get to its destination. Like the way I've been trying so hard to try to achieve the impossible by trying to break through that icy wall.

"Please _what? _Please believe what you say when you can obviously lie without second though?" I growl as he moves towards me.

Then Cato is at my ear, behind me. I bite my lip and try to ignore his warm breath on my cheek. I am _not _going to fall for this trick again, not when everything seems to be part of his little game.

"It's the way I am." Cato murmurs, a hint of sadness in the statement. I turn my head slightly and find him staring at me with those bright blue eyes, the same wistful expression in them.

"Then change," I say.

He chuckles and lets out a long breath. "That's on _my _wishlist."

.

Then so fast that I don't have time to react, he moves one hand to my waist and keeps it there while his other hand grabs my chin lightly, simultaneously turning my body around to face him.

"Hmm…you're not blushing. That's good." He says absentmindedly.

I only have time to blink before he leans in and mashes his lips against mine, holding me in place with his arms. After two seconds, Cato tilts his head so that our noses aren't in the way. I close my eyes as he continues holding out the kiss, gradually lightening the intensity until finally I feel him pull away lightly.

"You suck at kissing. Seriously." He smirks, quickly placing a little one on my lips.

I stare at him and his confident eyes, still recovering from the sudden turn of events. One moment he's teasing me and the next…

And then I know what I need to say. I know what the ultimate question is.

"Who...are you?"

His smirk falters and something enters his eyes, something other than total confidence. Then Cato regains his composure and that easy smile is back, although his eyes are still filled with sadness, regret even.

"I don't know. I really don't know anymore, Katniss."

I let him squeeze me to his chest and stay still as he sighs quietly. Because quite frankly, I don't think that _anyone _knows who Cato really is. He is lost in himself.

* * *

><p>...<p>

A/N: Hopefully this chapter seemed better than my previous ones to you guys. Anyways, next chapter we'll get into the unfortunate Cornucopia scene in which I will probably start crying as I write.

Please leave a review with comments, critique, thoughts, or suggestions. All of them are greatly appreciated, and I will try to reply to as many as I can. I might not be able to update until a week later or more, since I want to write the next chapter to the best of my ability, but I must tell you that I would be immensely happy if my story reached 1000 reviews by the last chapter. Knowing that there are people who enjoy reading my work is the greatest reward that I could ever receive in return for the hours spent on this. Much love, -Risa.

EDIT: I don't think that I'm going to update until about two weeks pass, or until I get 900 reviews. I'm just tired and need to think up some ideas for new fanfics. -.-


	19. Hold On

_A/N: Thank you all so so much for the kindness and motivation and support that you've given me throughout this story. Knowing that people look forward to reading and enjoy my writing makes me so happy. I never thought that anyone would even glance at this fanfic, and I have so many lovely people being wonderfully kind. _

_I want to thank everyone that has ever left a review to this story. You guys make me smile and I'm grateful that you take time out of your day to read and leave feedback, especially my anonymous reviewers. _

_Over the last two months I feel like I've improved my writing while working on this project, and although there's still so much that I need to work on, I hope that you feel that way as well. :)_

_*BTW, if you wanna follow me on twitter, find me at RisaLovesCato. Alexander Ludwig tweeted me yesterday. Now I just have to get his autograph and make him marry me. Cx_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 19: Hold On<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

"Lover Boy said that you had quite a few admirers in District 12." Cato says after a few minutes, sounding tired. He lets go of me and walks into a patch of flowers and sits down, blue eyes reflecting the dawn light. He beckons me with a small jerk of his head, and I move and sit down besides him.

"So, is it true?" The statement lacks the usual cockiness that it would usually have. He leans back on his elbows and stares at me, waiting for an answer.

"No. Well, I don't know. Probably not…I'm not exactly the most likable person, you know that." I counter.

"It seems like I should know several things that I don't." He laughs quietly. "You're alright, for a girl."

"Apparently so, or you wouldn't deem me worthy to receive your attention." I pick several blooms and try to braid them together. Cato watches my hands with an amused smile, tired, but amused. After a few minutes I abandon the task, apparently flower stems are harder to braid than hair.

"Let me see that." Cato doesn't wait for an answer and plucks the mangled mess off my lap, and starts fiddling with it, and surprisingly the flowers start to retain a crown-like shape as he weaves more stems in. Finally he tucks in the last flower and there is a flower crown similar to the ones that Prim used to make for me, in his hands.

Cato stares down at the crown with uninterested eyes, but when he looks up at me again, a small spark lights in those blue depths.

"Untie your hair." He orders, and I can tell that some of his old obnoxiousness is returning. Again, before I can even lift my hands to my head, Cato is already leaning forward and undoing the elastic that Cinna had considerately braided my hair with before I entered the arena.

"Anything for you, Cato." I mutter as he runs his fingers through the braid, undoing it and leaving my hair wavy and free, ending a little past my shoulders.

He sits back again and scrutinizes me with his eyes, tilting his head and blinking every few seconds while I stay still, wondering what he might be looking for. If it's beauty, he's out of luck, because even though I am not ugly, I am not overly attractive either, unlike Glimmer or certain victors from past Hunger Games.

"You're kind of pretty in that innocent and oblivious way." He says softly. Then he quickly falls silent, but his face breaks into a smirk a moment later. "You did _not_ just hear that, alright?"

"Cato Greene just said that I was pretty…that's as good as it gets." I reply with a smirk of my own.

"I'm sure that you can get better from someone else." He says in that same tired, slightly sad tone. I wonder what he means, but then he smiles and lifts the crown onto my head, nestling it the dark hair. "Now you're _nearly_ as attractive as me," he teases, adjusting a flower.

"Which isn't saying a lot." I reply in a light voice reserved for times like this. He rolls his eyes but doesn't answer, which is odd, considering that he usually would have an insanely good comeback prepared.

"Ok. I can't help it." He finally says, chuckling. I snort softly, of course he _did_ have a remark ready.

"No, it's not 'a lot'. It's more than you deserve." He rolls his eyes again. Then he says slowly, yet with a tone that implies that he knew it all along yet at the same time carrying an edge of realization to it, "Sorry, that was obnoxious of me."

"What are you talking about? You?" I reply sarcastically. We both snicker at the same time, and I can tell why he is always smirking with Clove, there's a sense of unity and superiority over everything in the area, which happens to be flowers and birds; when we are in agreement. That, or it just feels good to have him on my side.

"I wonder where Clove is..." Cato says it more like a declaration than a question, and I can tell that he's back in his ready-for-action mode. What did I expect? That he would spend the whole day just talking to me?

"Cato…you've barely recovered. We _can't _go after Thresh again today." I reason, knowing that he probably won't listen.

"I want to be out of the arena as soon as possible." Cato says. "And do you really think that I care about how bad my wounds are?"

"Well, I would hope that you do."

He pauses and seems to be thinking. Then he relents. "Tomorrow then. Definitely tomorrow."

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

Just then Clove comes running back into the meadow, one hand holding something as far from her body as possible.

"Cato! Cato! Cato…" She pants urgently, walking towards us with the object still in her hand. She has a fear-filled expression on her face.

"What! What! What?" I reply in the same tone. But I know that something is seriously wrong from the way that she doesn't even acknowledge my reply. Apparently she hasn't found the armor.

"Don't die. Please don't die. Don't." She is still breathing heavily and hands a small bottle of something and a slip of paper to me.

"Lover Boy's knives were poisoned. I found this in the bushes." Clove explains, and Katniss and I start to read the note.

_Apply on knives. If you don't kill Cato, this will take effect on the second day. He'll be dead by the third. Good luck. –Haymitch_

"Thanks Haymitch. A lot." Katniss yells into the sky, she is frowning.

"How wonderful. Alright then." I say, smirking. Two days is plenty of time, more than enough for me to kill District 11 and for this entire damn game to end.

"Is there an antidote?" Clove asks, calming down when she hears my light tone.

"There probably is, but not something that Enobaria can send in. It's fine." I must admit that the poison tactic is quite genius, if Lover Boy had somehow managed to kill me, it wouldn't be needed, and if I killed him, my time to live is limited anyways.

"This is serious. It's not something that you can heal from. If you don't get the antidote before time's up, you'll die." Katniss snaps, unlike Clove, she is flustered at my indifference. Because she doesn't know what Clove does- that I'm actually quite annoyed at the problem that Lover Boy has caused.

"If I die, you both can still win anyways. With District 11, by yourselves…either way you don't need me." I say almost smugly.

"And you want to be known as the tribute who almost became victor? The one who was killed by a mere bottle of poison?" Katniss is scowling, spitting out the words.

"What do you think, Fire Girl? I'm not planning on dying anytime soon."

She visibly bristles; I haven't called her by her old nickname in several days.

"Whatever. I'm going hunting." She sniffs, leaving with her bow. Clove and I exchange looks, and I shrug.

A few minutes later I get up and walk towards a large tree on the edge of the meadow. The sun has risen, and the tall stalks of grass cast tiny shadows over the ground.

"Clove, come here." I say, cracking my neck and ignoring the pain that comes with the sound. Clove runs over to me and I draw my sword.

"You're not going to run me through with that, right?" She grins wickedly.

"Someday, yes." I smirk and pull out another silver sword, which is considerably lighter. Still, when I hand it to Clove, she acts as if it weighs a ton.

"I'm no good with swords, you know that…" She whines, although after a few moments Clove is adjusting her fingers on the hilt, and I know that she's ready.

"You do realize that the giant isn't going to be nice and considerate like I am with you?"

As she says the words, she lunges forwards, and I block the attack with the flat of my weapon.

"Who's being considerate here, Clove?" I smirk, putting extra weight into a blow, but not enough to hurt her.

We continue parrying, her fumbling with the sword, and my arm aching as I increase the force behind each thrust.

Finally Clove steps back, panting. "You've got the sword down. Because I was helping you, of course," she adds.

"Of course." I throw the sword into the grass behind me and start moving back from the tree ten feet, holding half a dozen knives. I must practice with knives again, as pathetic as it seems, I know that something in my arm is messed up.

"Ha. Good luck throwing with _those _injuries. Watch the master, Cato. Just watch her." Clove snorts. She follows me pulls out her knives as well and throws one at the trunk. It lands in the middle, setting a target for me.

I grin, this is just like old times in training.

"'Him', you mean?" I smirk.

The first one misses by a few inches, landing to the right of Clove's knife, and I hear her snicker. The second one lodges in nearly the same spot as hers. After several more knives the accuracy returns, and I send a smug look towards Clove, who doesn't seem surprised.

"Ok, ok. Stop. You're going to ruin my knife." Clove scurries to the trunk and retrieves her marred knife and my weapons.

I think of using a spear but decide that it would be easier to finish District 11 with knives. Spears are for long range targets, and I plan to make his death painful, afflicted in close proximity.

"Those wounds still not bothering you? Poisoned and all?" She pokes at my chest, her nail digging into my skin.

There is a burning sensation throughout my body, as if the blood were on fire. But if I were to admit that, she would laugh. Laugh and then start worrying.

"Are there any extra shirts in the backpacks?" I slip into another subject, waving her hand away. "I'd rather not be half-naked."

"Fire Girl and I aren't complainin'. And neither are the females of Panem." Clove lets her eyes travel pointedly to my stomach, and I shove her roughly.

"Shut up and go find a shirt." I roll my eyes as she laughs.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

After an hour or two I return to camp, enough meat to last several days in my arms. Several days if it were me alone, or even Cato and me, but Clove will most likely speed up the process…she eats like a cow. I try not to think that in a few hours the poison will kick in and Cato will be in too much pain to do anything, let alone eat.

I'm guessing that the poison will spread through his bloodstream and eventually reach his heart…and then it will be too late to do anything. I keep on walking and push the thought of my head, and instead try to fill my mind with images of home. Prim and flowers, Lady the goat, Buttercup even appears. Gale. My mother. The woods.

When I step over a log to enter the meadow, Cato and Clove are talking. Their voices carry and I hear them from across the expanse.

"...and what if there could only be one victor and we were the last ones?" Clove is asking.

"God, what do you expect me to say?"

"That you'd kill me, of course. Otherwise all this would go to waste." She gestures at him and the spear that he is polishing in a bored manner.

"I'm not meant to win, Cato. You are. Everybody knows that you've been trained for this, and that you have what it takes." She continues. "All the mentors love you. Not to mention all of District 2."

"Don't be jealous." He replies in a tired tone. But then he nudges her softly, and I smile at his quiet gratitude.

There is short silence, in which I adjust my stance. Perhaps I can learn something more from eavesdropping. Clove wastes no time posing her next question.

"Oh, and who'd you want to win if it were us three left and I had to fight Fire Girl?"

I can feel my fingers tighten around the legs of a rabbit. Who would he want to come of the arena with? Before I knew him, I would immediately say it is Clove, but he must have some type of bond with me as well, it's impossible not to after staying with the same person for over ten days. Then again, he's known Clove for over ten years.

"I don't know. Stop asking pointless questions," he says, and I envy his ability to always say just the right things. Always the perfect response is there, be it witty or serious, nothing he says seems wrong.

"It's like having someone pinch you and never let go, and every few seconds they add more force." Cato suddenly says. To me it is sudden but Clove is not surprised.

"Finally you answer. I was going to ask you until you did."

"I know."

"It's going to get worse tonight, that poison spreads like wildfire." Clove is almost somber when she speaks.

For some reason Cato bursts out laughing. "You don't even know how true that metaphor is." He is still chuckling, and I see that one of his hands has traveled to his shoulder and is clutching it lightly.

I step out of the bushes and pretend that I had just returned from hunting instead of crouching in the leaves for the past few minutes.

I love how Cato immediately drops his hand and sends me a smug smile. Typical.

"Oh good…" Clove says, rushing forward to help me unload the feathery and furry bodies. There is even a creature that is covered with dull white spikes, and has red eyes that are filmed over. I think that I shot it by accident.

"We just ate a few hours ago. Don't be fat, we need to move tonight." Cato drops the spear and picks up a small axe, examining the blade before setting it down again.

"But won't you be…"

"No, I won't be hungry." He interrupts, although all three of us know what I really mean. "Actually, sorry…thanks for hunting."

He sighs tiredly, although it is barely noon, and turns away to sharpen another spear before Clove and I can even utter a word. That's when I first know that the poison is slowly taking effect.

…

It gets steadily worse as the day wears on. Cato's wounds have attained a sickly color and every time I dab them with water or with more of the burn medicine he visibly flinches. By mid-afternoon he is pale and seems so tired. But he refuses to sleep or eat and instead insists on making plans and preparing. By evening we have forced him to drink water and eat, but the deadly substance has evidently started spreading. We are all quietly preparing, Clove cleaning her knives, me making new arrows with sticks and pointed stones, Cato laying down and thinking.

It's his eyes that give it away. He is staring at the darkening sky with such pain and helplessness that I can only imagine how miserable he must feel.

I try to distract him with conversation.

"So does District 2 get shows from the Capitol on television?" I ask, although I know that they do. Districts 1 and 2 are the wealthiest, and I have heard that the Capitol broadcasts to them since they are so close.

"Yes."

Clove elaborates for him. "There are bunches of fashion shows and modeling. That's all we really watch though, other than the news and the Games. Since we can actually get the clothes if we want."

"Doesn't Rosalie Darling model for the Capitol?" Cato doesn't sit up but he seems more interested.

"Of course she does, she's up here half the year looking pretty."

I really cannot relate to anything they are saying, although I know too well of the beautiful victor from five years ago.

"Don't worry, Cato. It's perfectly normal for you to be attracted." Clove continues, snickering.

I raise an eyebrow. Cato doesn't defend himself but just smirks. I decide to move the conversation along before I hear something that I don't want to.

"Well apparently you can't be feeling too bad." I mutter.

"And apparently somebody's envious." Clove retorts for Cato, and he makes a sound of annoyance.

"I can talk for myself, Clove." He forces himself up onto his elbows and I can tell that it is painful. Then he looks at me, face giving nothing away. "Things are not always what they appear."

I can't argue with that so I just scowl while he lies down again and closes his eyes.

…

There's no way to stop the poison without a high-tech Capitol medicine. Something that would be expensive beyond any sponsors' willingness to fund. And it is so near to the end of the Games that prices must be extremely high. Even if all of Cato's sponsors, which are a majority of the Capitol's wealthiest, pooled all their resources, would it be enough?

It's funny to think that such a small bottle of poison that could not have been too expensive would have such an impact, enough to weaken and potentially kill the deadliest of us.

The sun is starting to dip below the horizon when the parachute floats down. Inside is a syringe of painkiller, and Clove approaches Cato warily, ready to push the needle down. He has been lying in the same spot, unmoving, for several hours, and I can see that his breathing is faster than normal.

"Cato, do you want this right now?"

He opens his eyes and they flick to her hand, which is inches away from his arm. He is still shirtless.

"No, save it for later," he says. His voice is considerably quieter. "We're leaving at midnight."

I give him a questioning look and step forward, ready to talk some sense into him, but Clove slaps me in the arm, pushing me back.

"Ok. You have a plan, right?" She asks sweetly, shouldering me when I try to object.

"More or less. Go put that in my backpack." Cato orders. I give up and just roll my eyes, he's obviously not going to back out of tonight's excursion no matter what.

"Do you want anything? Food, for instance?" I ask. If he's set on trekking through the arena in a few hours, he has to get some nourishment.

"Water would be nice." He replies absentmindedly, and by the way that he tenses up slightly I know that another bout of discomfort must be gripping him.

"Food, you say? Alright, I'll roast up some rabbit." If it's the last thing I do I'm going to make him eat something. I prepare the meat with mock cheerfulness while Clove gets Cato his water.

"I feel so useless right now," he says. "You two actually have to take care of me, it's pathetic."

"Completely pathetic." I mumble sarcastically.

"Am I the only one that's hurt between us?" He continues as I hand him a leg wrapped in a cloth. He pushes himself up and winces before taking it.

"Sorry to break it to you, buddy." Clove holds out her hand for her share of meat and I hand her half of the remaining rabbit, knowing that she'll want more after.

"How ironic..."

"Did you expect _us _to be the ones injured instead?" I ask indignantly. Truth be told, none of this from the first wound on his arm to the poisoning would have happened if I'd let that arrow fly into Peeta's heart that day and ended it all before it began.

"No, of course not. I was just thinking about something."

We eat as the sun disappears completely, marking sundown, also marking the second day since Peeta stabbed Cato. I can almost feel Cato's life ticking away, measured in mere hours now.

"Time's running out. This is our last chance." Cato says an hour later. I have changed his bandages again and we've eaten. Cato seems to be suffering even more than before, but when Clove offers him the syringe again, he refuses flatly. Currently he is sitting, leaning against the backpacks and looking out over the meadow past the stream.

"If we don't get him tonight you two are on your own."

Clove lightly whacks him in the head. "Don't talk like that. You're not going to die, you idiot."

"Be realistic, Clove. There are four tributes left. Will two of them really be terminated by the end of tomorrow?"

Clove and I remain silent, pondering over what that means. We both want Cato to be one of the victors, he deserves it. But then only one of us can win with him.

"If I'm gone it'll be so much easier. Just make sure that District 11 doesn't come out alive." He continues, smirking in a sad way.

"Shut up. Shut up. Shut up." I say, and Clove whacks him again, harder in his uninjured shoulder.

"If you die I'll kill your dog." Clove threatens, and I find her statement strange. I shoot her a confused glance but she ignores me and stands there with a triumphant grin on her face.

"You wouldn't."

"Oh yes I would." She continues, grin growing as Cato frowns.

"Stupid blackmailer. Damn dog-killer…" Cato starts muttering under his breath.

"It's a _dog_." I clarify, confused and amused at the same time. What in the world is going on?

"Not any dog. He promised someone that he would take care of it." Clove explains while Cato shoots her an annoyed look.

"Go ahead. It's not like it'll matter to me anyways. Because I'll be dead, apparently."

"Good point." She looks thoughtful. "Then…I'll kill Fire Girl if you die. And I'll make it slow and painful."

"I'm standing right here, you know…" I say.

Cato's answer comes after a few seconds of hesitation. "It…still wouldn't matter." He looks up at the sky, the moon has risen and a veil of darkness is over everything. It is almost time to leave. I bite my lip and stare at him with as much willpower as I can muster.

"Oh, so if I kill her now it won't matter to you?" Clove has a playful glint to her eyes and stands up, her ponytail bobbing. She seems so full of energy, so different from Cato, who meets my gaze calmly with eyes that barely conceal the physical pain he is experiencing.

"Touch her and I'll haunt you forever." He says finally, placing an arm over my shoulders. I feel my face starting to go red, Cato's never shown any type of affection towards me in front of Clove. Her eyes widen.

"So that's how it is...I didn't think that you'd forget so quickly, Cato." She muses, and her eyes flick over the two of us like she's trying to consume the moment with her eyes before it ends.

"I haven't forgotten." Cato answers quietly. "I've just moved on."

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

It feels like liquid fire is coursing through my veins. But still I am able to stand. Katniss and Clove are staring at me like they want so badly to help, but I know that they are refraining.

"Check everything. We're leaving in five." I order, unzipping my own backpack to check for the syringe, the weapons, the bottle of poison. I am aware that one of my hands is shaking and clench it tightly to stop the tremor.

I wonder what type of poison it is, this one is strange because it seems to affect the whole body instead of targeting particular regions. There is a fierce ache in my stomach as well, and I decide to blame it on Katniss and Clove for making me eat, although I know very well that it is just another symptom.

As I turn towards the two of them, who are still checking their backpacks, the sound of trumpets blares through the arena. We all look up with a start, and Clove lets out a squeak of surprise at the sudden noise.

It is Claudius Templesmith, the bearer of good and bad news. Fortunately it is good this time. He is inviting us to a feast. I should have expected it, they want to bring us together and finish this as soon as possible. But I seriously doubt that District 11 will show up. It's not like either of us need food, with his field of grain and our little huntress.

Katniss shakes her head and Clove goes back to her backpack with an annoyed sigh, and then the legendary announcer continues.

"Now hold on. Some of you may already be declining my invitation. But this is no ordinary feast. Each of you needs something desperately."

They both snap their heads towards me, and I realize what Claudius has possibly implied. We listen intently for the rest of his message.

"Each of you will find something in a backpack, marked with your district number, at the Cornucopia at dawn. Think hard about refusing to show up. For some of you, this will be your last chance."

There is no more, but his words hang in the air. Then Clove and Katniss are both jumping up and start talking quickly.

"We have to go…it must be the medicine for you."

"And Thresh is bound to show up."

"You might die if you don't get the antidote soon. This _is _our last chance."

"And we can try to get him while we're there."

"Relax. We'll leave in a few minutes."

I remember dreaming of my victory when I was young, glorious and unforgettable. I smile ironically, instead of being in perfect shape I am fighting a poison and covered with freaking bandages.

"It would be nice to actually look decent for our final fight." I declare loudly. Katniss' hair is tangled and Clove is covered with mud. And I can feel the blood slipping underneath my bandages.

"Enobaria?" I send all sponsors that might be watching a charming smile.

The parachute is a large parcel this time, and jerkily drops into my lap. Inside is a black jacket, a hairbrush, several towels…and I laugh when I find the final gift. It is cologne, the same kind that my stylist downed me in right before launch.

Katniss brushes her hair before braiding it, and Cloves wets a towel and scrubs her face and arms. After she's done, Katniss offers to help me clean up a little and I accept her help with a smirk.

She ends up removing all the bandages again, cleaning the wounds with the towel, and then letting me wash my face and arms while she wrapped fresh gauze around them.

"How does it feel?" Clove asks. She is jerking the brush through a tangle and winces as a clump of hair comes out. "Cato doesn't let many people touch him, even though half the girls in school dream about it. Probably half the female population in Panem by now."

"I think that you've got me mixed with Finnick Odair." I mutter under my breath. Louder, for them to hear, I say, "And that doesn't include you two, I hope."

"I don't know." Clove says, walking over. Before I can stop her she is running the brush through my hair.

"You look good with your hair flat too." She snickers, quickly smoothing it with her hand before stopping. Then she starts giggling as if she's accomplished something enormous. Guess that after forbidding her to touch my hair for several years built up some quite interesting goals.

"Ok. Stop touching me. This is getting increasingly weird." I shake Clove off my back and push Katniss' hand off my chest.

"Dammit. I've always wanted to..." Clove trails off as I send her a withering look.

I quickly shrug the jacket on and zip it when both Katniss and Clove keep on staring at my lower body. Usually I would enjoy the experience, but now is not the time for them to be running their filthy little hands over my skin.

"You two done now?" I arch and eyebrow and end off coughing to near death when Clove picks up the bottle of cologne and starts spraying me like crazy. I wave the particles away while coughing more, and snatch the small glass bottle from Clove before things get out of hand.

"Let's go. District 11'll probably smell us before he sees us." I stuff everything into Katniss' backpack since it holds nothing but the burn medicine and other tidbits, and hoist my own rucksack over my shoulders.

"I like it." Clove states simply, and Katniss laughs.

"You had to state it because it wasn't obvious already..." I give up trying to argue and start towards the forest, making the bursts of pain that shoot across my chest and down into my stomach a reminder of how near the end is. At this point that can be interpreted in two ways.

...

"Once we get the package drop back. We'll get him after." I say. We are standing on the edge of the huge center meadow, hidden behind a wall of bushes. The Cornucopia is silver in the moonlight, and everything is still. It should be one or two hours before dawn.

"We're all going?" Katniss asks.

"Maybe. Or one of us can distract District 11 while the other two get him from the back." She has a good point, it would be more efficient for all of us to go at once, but then our opponent might hurt Katniss or Clove. It doesn't matter if he kills me, at least they'd still have a chance to win that way.

"Clove, you'll get the package, you're fast enough to outrun him."

"I'm not going to run, I'm fighting. My knives haven't seen blood in too long." Clove hisses, and I know that she is more than excited for this.

"Katniss, you'll have her back and shoot 11 if things get out of hand. In the heart if possible." I order, and Katniss nods.

"And you'll be here waiting for the antidote." She turns her grey eyes to me, and squints at me with a determined expression. "You can't go out there, he's going to target you first."

"Don't give me that look, you know that I'm not going to be watching while you two have all the fun."

She snorts and mouths the word _fun _to herself as she scowls.

"How're you feeling?" Katniss nods at my body, and then gives me a smug look, and I know that the paleness of my face has given me away.

"I look terrible, don't I."

"So-so." She replies.

"Like I'm about to pass out." I continue flatly as another barrage of pain rushes through my stomach.

"Ha." Clove snickers and Katniss confirms my statements with a small smirk.

"Do you want the painkiller now? Drink some water first." She shoves her water bottle into my hands.

"No, the syringe will make me fall asleep. And I have my own water." I toss the bottle back to her and take a small gulp from my own.

"Even you can't deny your discomfort now, Cato. We all know that you're freakin' dying inside. Literally and metaphorically." Clove says, and she is actually serious for once.

"Thanks for reminding me." I say.

"Is it almost time?"

I look up at the sky, it has lightened but the moon and stars are still clearly visible. Only an hour or so left. I bet that District 11 is somewhere on the other side of the plain, also waiting. If only he weren't part of this brawl, it would be deathly easy. Then again, I always love a challenge. I can feel my lips curling up into a smile at the thought of ending his life. Damn coward, all he's done is run. A real man would stand and fight.

Then again, this shouldn't be too hard. He hasn't trained at all before being reaped, after all. And in training his aim was always off, although close enough to be considered mediocre. Those two that he threw at me proved nothing, after all, a body is so much easier to throw at than a target.

"I seriously thought that you were going to kill Fire Girl before this long. You only wanted her in the alliance so it would be easier to in the first place." Clove suddenly exclaims.

"That's nice to know." Katniss interjects, eyebrows arched. She is using one of my knives to sharpen the points of the makeshift stone arrows.

"Well, I changed my mind." I chuckle, putting my hand over hers and guiding it to help her file the stone to a fatal point.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

The arena has lightened enough for us to see the Cornucopia clearly. I can hear the morning birds singing, it must be time. Here we are, and Cato is alert and Clove is on her feet and ready, but where's our feast?

Just as the first ray of sun flints off the gold Cornucopia, there is a disturbance upon the meadow. The ground at the mouth of the horn splits in two and a round table with a blinding white cloth rises up from the earth, into the arena. On the table sits two backpacks, one with the number _2 _and one with _11_.

The table has just clicked into place when Clove dashes out of our bush and sprints towards the Cornucopia, a small quick figure in the large plain.

She snags the backpack with the number _2 _and then also grabs the remaining backpack, sending us a grin. What is she doing?

Cato seems to know, because he tenses, quivering with anticipation.

Then Thresh comes, lumbering out of the wheat hills, his footsteps and shouts echoing through the clearing. I always remembered him as massive, but he seems so so immense compared to Clove that I feel afraid for her.

"Come and get it if you want it! Come and get it!" Clove shrieks joyfully, moving towards the lake. Thresh is running faster now, gaining speed and momentum. He seems to really want whatever is in his backpack.

"What is she doing?" Cato snarls, and he lunges forwards, out of the bushes. He starts dashing towards Clove, but he is too far away to be of any help. Thresh is steadily closing in. I quickly scramble up and start running after him.

It all seems to happen in a minute. Thresh is roaring threats, Cato is still dashing to reach Clove before Thresh does, and Clove is sprinting faster now, panicking and trying to get to the forest. And I am running too, bow strung and pointed at the dark giant, trying to move into range.

Then things go horribly wrong. Clove stumbles over a stone and then Thresh is upon her and she is screaming. For Cato, for mercy, swearing and screaming as he throws her to the ground and towers over her. Cato is a moving blur now, and I let my arrow fly as I race towards Clove. It lodges in Thresh's back, I'm not close enough.

But he just roars in pain and then picks up the very stone that caused Clove to stumble.

"Cato! Cat-" She falls silent as Thresh slams the rock into her chest.

...

She crumples to the ground, and the massive figure runs back to his fields with both the backpacks, not looking back as a barrage of knives sink into his wide back, and even when one of my arrows goes through the side of his neck he keeps running, blood paving a trail behind him.

"Clove!" Cato's desperate cry echoes across the plain as Thresh disappears out of sight. I join him beside Clove, he is kneeling over her.

It's horrible. There is no blood but she is breathing too fast to be normal, and I try to ignore the part where the stone smashed into, a dent in her chest, as if the bones have collapsed into themselves.

"No...Clove, why didn't you run?" Cato whispers.

"It was fun. You know how much I love fun." Clove stares into our faces, his mostly, and her voice is raspy and weak.

"You two have to win. Win for me." She continues, her breathing is even faster now. I can feel myself crying, we all know that this wound is irreparable. Cato is clutching her hand tightly, telling her how sorry he is, how much she meant to him.

"I'm never going to find anyone who could use knives like you did, Clove. Remember when I first met you and you tried to stab me? Remember?" His voice is shaking and his eyes pleading.

"Yes..." She answers faintly, and Cato gathers her up gently and holds her like a broken doll. "How could I ever forget? You made my life unforgettable. Every moment we spent together." Clove's eyes are closing slightly, and a tear traces down her cheek.

"Clove..." I manage to choke out, and as if in a trance she slowly turns her head towards me.

"I loved the meat. You're a good hunter..." she murmurs, and then another lone tear appears as she blinks slowly.

Cato is shaking, and places her down again gently, still holding her hand. There is such anguish in his eyes.

"Smile for me, one last time." He says.

"You were the best friend I could ever have..." she whispers, clinging to his hand. Her lips curl up in a small smile, and they stare at each other for a moment.

"I love you too, Clove." He murmurs, and her smile slips into a grin and I can see her fingers tightening in Cato's hand.

Then she is gone. The cannon sounds and Cato strokes her hair gently and squeezes the limp body once more before standing up.

"I'll never forget." He says, and his voice is shaking so badly.

.

I stand as well, tears blurring my vision. Cato puts his arm around my shoulders and we walk away from her still form together, towards the lake, and I can feel his body trembling.

"Be good and don't leave here." Cato whispers to me, pushing my chin up with one hand. He kisses me so hard and so intensely and for such a long moment that we are both gasping for breath when he lets my chin drop.

"If I don't come back, hold on to that one, ok?" His arm tightens for a moment and the scent of his cologne wreaths around me. Then Cato pushes me away, into the dark water of the lake with a splash.

When I am able to gain my footing again and wipe the tears and water out of my eyes, Cato is gone and so is Clove. She must have been taken away by a hovercraft. Cato knew that I would try to follow him so he did what he did to protect me. I sit onshore, tears still making their way out of my eyes and body numb with cold and shock. It is so unfair that Clove's vibrant laugh, lively eyes, cheerful voice...all be taken away with a single stroke of Thresh's arm. And now he might take Cato away from me as well.

I sit there, holding on to the kiss like Cato asked and trying not to cry when memories of Clove flash by.

And I know that while I sit here untouched, Cato and Thresh must be fighting. Fighting to the death, fighting for revenge and avenge.

...

It is an hour later when the cannon shakes me from my numb shell of grieving, and I jerk upwards, eyes wide.

Cato _must _be alright, he must be. Unless the poison reached his heart...but I refuse to believe that and stand on my toes, almost ready to fly away in anticipation. My greatest opponent or most trusted ally could be dead.

The few lingering moments before the trumpets sound are agonizing, and when Claudius finally speaks I am dreading the worst.

The announcer seems pleased.

_"Ladies and gentlemen, we have our victors for the 74th annual Hunger Games. Katniss Everdeen and..." _

Templesmith drags the word out and I don't even care that I've been announced a Victor, I just need to know whether Cato is alive or not.

_"and...Cato Greene."_

* * *

><p><em>AN- The next chapter will be the last one. I want to thank you all again for sticking with me and supporting me. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. xx -Risa_


	20. We Found Love

**_EDIT: THE SEQUEL IS UP. It's titled "Insurgence"._**

_A/N: Hello everyone, sorry that I haven't updated in a while. Life's been busy. _

_This is the final chapter to this fanfiction, and I thank you all for reading, reviewing, and just motivating me to write. It's been a wonderful experience. I would love to write a sequel to this story, but I was wondering how many of my readers would be interested. Please tell me if you are, since I plan to start writing it very soon. _

_Much love, and thank you all again. I hope that you enjoyed this as much as I did, especially this chapter. Please review with your thoughts and last comments, I promise that I'll reply to each and every one of them this time. :)_

_xx -Risa_

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

He smells of blood, earth, and cologne. The blood is everywhere, you can see it in his hair, on his arms, through the ragged slashes in his jacket. It sticks to my cheek as we are lifted up by the ladder, my head nestled somewhere in the dark folds of fabric. The earth is from his fight with Thresh, deep in the forest where the trees are thick, I saw the District 11 boy's body motionless on the ground when the hovercraft came to retrieve Cato. Leaves and dirt, gouges in the soft ground, blood splattered across the small clearing. And the cologne is his alone, faintly drifting through the metallic scent.

The electric current keeps us immobilized as the ladder steadily is pulled up, and Cato is clutching me with one arm, the other is loose at his side, it is broken. But we are both alive.

As soon as the silver doors close and the current releases us, gloved hands tear me away from him, and Cato is watching all of it with tired eyes, restless eyes that want to stop them, but tired as well.  
>When I glare at them hostilely and try to twist away from their tight grips, he speaks.<p>

"Katniss, it's ok," he says softly. But I know that it's not ok. I know because the medics are shouting orders and pulling Cato away urgently. And then he collapses onto the silver bed and I let out an involuntary growl at the nurses restraining me, and they shrink back.

The doctors dressed in sterile white are ready for him, and go into action immediately. Cato look so pale and lifeless on that silver bed, with wires and tubes springing out of him in every way, and there's a growing pool of scarlet dripping onto the floor.  
>I lunge towards the bed, desperate and afraid that the doctors are just another threat, that they are hurting him. But I am caught and thrust into a nearby room and a glass door seals between us.<p>

When Cato's blood suddenly splatters across the white walls when a doctor moves him, I snap. I start screaming my head off and pounding on the glass, harder and harder until both my throat and hands hurt. But no one pays attention other than an Avox that offers me a drink.

I stare at the frilly cup for a moment, then throw it against the glass door. It shatters and orange juice goes flying. A few of the doctors turn, but quickly go back to operating on Cato.

Finally I accept that they are doing their best to preserve Cato's life, not harm it. I slump down against the door and grumpily watch as the doctors move about in a blur of white and as a nurse is called in to tend to him. She puts a hand on his now-clean hair when the doctors towards the machines to take notes. I quickly bang on the glass and send her a glare and a scowl. She sends me a smile as she strokes his hair once before removing her hand. I narrow my eyes and swear that if she touches him again I'll break the glass and hunt her down.

We must be nearing the Training Center now, I can feel the hovercraft descending. The doctors are still passing by my room urgently, all attention on Cato's still figure. I think that I see a flash of pink...is it Effie? Is Haymitch here too? That must be Effie, right?

I can't check because at that moment a needle stabs into my arm and I fall into blackness.

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

I awake to a persistent beeping noise, emitting from a small device connected to my arm through several wires. I am in an empty white room, with soft yellow lights pulsating from the ceiling. There is nothing here but the silver bed I am laying on, and when I try to sit up I am unable to, there is a wide restraining band across my waist. I am almost naked, there is the feeling of a towel resting on my hips, yet the thin white covers brush against my chest. The beeping continues and I let out a sigh, no doubt an attendant will arrive soon. I attempt to sit up again, simultaneously slamming my hand down on the silver beeping device on the pillow.

Just then, a section of the wall slides open and a familiar figure rushes in. She looks relieved and takes large strides towards me.

"Enobaria." I mutter, and I know she hears me because she gives me a grin, showcasing her gold teeth. I still think that the rubies are unnecessary.

She stops by the bed and peers down at me. "Damn, the doctors wouldn't let me in. Thought you were in a coma or something. At least they patched you up alright. Finally awake?"

"No. I'm obviously still asleep." My voice sounds scratchy and gruff, and I cough to clear my throat. "How long has it been?"

"Five days…you haven't been out for this long since when you jumped in that lake. To save Clove, was it?"

I stare at her weather-lined face with a look of disgust. Clove. She had to mention Clove, didn't she?

"Leave me alone." I growl before turning my head away from her.

"Cato, I wanted her to win with you, _not_ that District 12 scamp. You know that." She says, not very remorsefully. I snort and close my eyes, ignoring her. Enobaria never showed much interest in Clove. True, she was one of the best, but Clove didn't sit particularly well with my mentor, while her antics amused me, Enobaria deemed them childish.

She knows that I'm still listening, and continues without hesitation.

"The doctors say you can be released in a few hours. The scamp's been asking to see you ever since she woke up."

I stay silent. So Katniss wants to see me. I think that I should be feeling ecstatic but there is just a sharp recognition that she cares. I open my eyes and turn back towards my mentor.

"Lift the restraining band. I can't talk while I'm lying down." I say, and Enobaria gives me a smirk before pressing a button underneath the bed and lifting the restraint.

"You never liked looking up to others. Always depending on yourself."

"And I'm guessing that the District 12 mentor dislikes me as much as you dislike Katniss? Where is she right now?" I sit up and ask.

"Why do you even care? The act is over now, no one is watching. So drop it and stop pretending that you actually feel anything," Enobaria sniffs.

I smirk, she knows nothing about me. "Was I acting? You can't even tell."

She is getting annoyed now, and a stern expression is setting in her face. "Whether it was real or pretend, stop it _now_."

"Enobaria…when have I _ever _done what you asked?" I return her glare with a cold look of my own.

"You idio- nevermind. Do whatever you want, but don't say I didn't warn you. You deserve more than that, Cato. You've always deserved more."

I sit frozen as I process her words, as she resolutely turns heel and stomps out of the room. Moments later a doctor enters with a needle ready in his hand.

"_Was I acting? You can't even tell."_

The problem is, I can't either.

…

The place where I know a scar should be from Lover Boy's knife is smooth and unblemished. I sit up, the restraint has been removed, and run my fingers over the shoulder, the back, the arm that should be ridden with scars. There is nothing. The damn doctors have made me look like one of them, idiotic freaks with their unscarred skin. Upon closer inspection I see that my old scars from training are still there, they seem to only have removed the new ones. Good. Still, they should know that perfection is impossible. No need to try to achieve it.

When I see the tribute uniform folded at my pillow I remember, I am no longer a trainee, I will be a mentor once I return home. I have a feeling that Enobaria will start dragging me along to the Capitol with her every year, she's been coming alone for as long as I can remember.

The uniform is on in under a minute and I walk over to the place where I know a door should be and touch the wall twice, quickly. When Enobaria left she had rapped on the wall angrily, and from my bed I had heard two knocks. It slides open and I step into an empty hallway smugly.

"Cato!" I turn at the shriek and am nearly bowled over by the female members of my prep team leaping on me.

"You were brilliant!" One of them says, and I stare at her with contempt, brushing their hands off my chest. They seem to be oblivious to my quizzical glances as they go on about various scenes and describe kisses in extreme detail.

"If you would excuse me, ladies." I finally interrupt, and without waiting for an answer I break away and walk towards Enobaria, who is standing with Yevon, my stylist.

"Go with Yevon, he's got to get you ready for the ceremony." Enobaria says, she seems to have forgotten about earlier. But then under her breath she mutters something about scamps and acting and I know that she is still holding a grudge.

"I want you to look absolutely ravishing. That District 12 girl will be pleased." As he leads me into a large room, the stylist chuckles. I narrow my eyes.

"I do not _please_ others." I say slowly, with a hint of a growl.

"Of-of course not." Yevon laughs nervously and I sit down and glance at my reflection in the mirror.

"You've lost a lot of weight, we'll need new measurements." I nod in a bored way.

"Tell me, Yevon. Do you think that I care for her? The District 12 girl?"

The stylist jumps a bit at the sudden question and hesitates for several moments before he opens his purple-painted lips.

"She seems to love you. And it seems that you may love her also." He answers slowly, eyes flicking to me with every word.

"I see." I reply softly.

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

"Have you given up the whole 'girl on fire' thing?" I ask. Cinna is holding a simple yellow dress in his arms.

"You tell me," Cinna says, and he slips it over my head. There is illusion that I am wearing candlelight, soft fire hidden within the luminous folds of yellow. I am still the girl on fire.

"It's the best yet," I say as I tear my eyes away from the flickering fabric and take in the rest. Loose hair flowing down my back, makeup rounding out the sharp angles, only a clear polish on my perfectly filed nails. I am very simply, a girl. An innocent, unassuming girl.

"I thought that Cato would like to see this side of you." Cinna says, helping me slip into a pair of leather sandals.

Cato? I shrug and Cinna laughs. Who knows what Cato likes.

We are currently on the twelfth floor, where Peeta and I stayed before the Games. It feels strange to be here alone. Haymitch isn't ever with us, he will be meeting with me right before I am lifted onstage.

"Shall we go?" Cinna leads the prep team and me into the elevator, and we zoom down to the floor with the training center. Then through a hallway to the area underneath the stage where the interviews were held.

It is customary for a victor and his or her prep team to rise up onto the stage, but this year there are two victors and they had to make accommodations. I find myself in a poorly lit small space, with a newly installed metal plate ready. I can smell the drying paint and see piles of sawdust. About ten feet away is a makeshift wall, where I assume Cato is getting ready.

I am so nervous and feel my stomach jumping when Cinna and the team wish me luck and leave to change into their own costumes. And when I feel a hand on my shoulder I jump.

"It's just me, sweetheart." Haymitch says gruffly. "Let me get a look at you."

He doesn't seem angry and isn't oozing dislike, so I assume that he's ok with the fact that I won. I hold out my arms and turn once.

"Good enough," Haymitch says, and he straightens my headband.

"Are you upset that I won instead of Peeta?" I ask, taking the moment to adjust a red bow tie that Cinna probably wrestled him into.

"Peeta didn't have a chance against you, sweetheart. I just wish that he'd been smarter about things." My mentor pats me on the back clumsily, his eyes softening a bit.

"Good luck out there. Don't trip and fall off the stage."

"Thanks, I'll try not to." I am so nervous, and am grateful when Haymitch helps me step onto the plate.

"This is your night, sweetheart. Enjoy it." He kisses me on the forehead and then disappears into the gloom.

The roar of the crowd is so loud that it nearly drowns out the beating of my heart. I want to get everything right tonight. Haymitch isn't angry with me, which is good. He may have liked Peeta better, but he still must like me enough.

The stage rumbles as the anthem blares throughout the room, and Caesar Flickerman's familiar voice opens the show. There is applause as the prep teams are introduced, and I can imagine Flavius, Venia and Octavia taking ridiculous bows. Then Effie. She's waited so long for this moment, after so long complaining about her position as District 12's escort she finally has a breakthrough. Cinna and Yevon, who must be Cato's stylist, are introduced and there is enormous applause. Then Haymitch and Enobaria, who receive nearly five minutes of continuous cheering. They are celebrities here.

And then I feel my plate moving upwards, breaking through the opening in the stage…and am nearly blinded by the lights. As the metal beneath my feet rattles with their deafening roars of applause, I remember Haymitch telling me not to fall off the stage.

Then there's Cato just a few yards away. Looking healthy and handsome as ever in a striking black suit. He is looking at me with bright eyes, and sends me a small smirk. The same smirk, whether covered with blood or beneath shining lights. And when I see it, I take a step forward and fling myself at him.

"Still on fire, I see," he says, and then I am clinging to him and he is kissing me and all the time I am thinking about how different he is from that cold, distant boy he was. The audience is going insane, screaming our names and throwing bouquets of flowers.

After a few minutes Caesar taps Cato on the shoulder to continue the show. Cato untangles himself from me and grins into the crowd. They go berserk once more and a million voices are calling his name, my name. There is a short pang of annoyance when I realize that some of the screams are filled with lust, girls shrieking for his love. But it disappears when he gently escorts me to the red velvet sofa, still grinning.

I am practically on his lap, and try not to seem like I'm enjoying it although I am. A voice hollers that we should get closer, and I know that it's definitely not Haymitch or Enobaria, and I put my head on his shoulder.

"Am I only one not completely loving this?" Cato mutters sarcastically, and Caesar Flickerman laughs heartily while I glare at him good-naturedly. He puts an arm around me and I am not surprised to feel the pure muscle pressing against my head.

Caesar makes a few jokes and then the show starts, it will last exactly three hours and is required viewing for all of Panem. I'm glad that Cato is next to me, I honestly am not looking forward to seeing all twenty-two of our fellow tributes' deaths.

It is not easy to fit several weeks of footage into three hours, so only the highlights are included. Whoever puts together the video chooses what the theme will be, this year it seems like it is a mix of glorious fighting and love.

After the first half hour of the parade and training and interviews, the full coverage of the bloodbath starts. I don't know if I should be horrified or afraid or awestruck by the way that the Careers, especially Cato, heartlessly slaughter the others in mere heartbeat. Everything moves so fast, I can barely follow their sprinting and the flash of metal and blood. Cato is tense besides me, leaning forward slightly, and there is a satisfied smile on his face. Of course, to him, this must be beautiful.

It picks up when I join them, and the cameras basically stay on our group the entire time, since we were the main cause of their deaths. Clove's outbursts cause the crowd to chuckle, and I am reminded of how much I miss her, even though she completely hated me in the beginning. Marvel's death is shown in full, with Cato sending him off with a hint that Glimmer would be pleased, and then the redhead girl sending her knife through his neck just as he sent a spear through her stomach. A double death.

Then there is Peeta finding Rue and befriending her. There is a sweet moment where both of them are scavenging for food together, before the scene changes to Cato and I beneath that willow tree. Then Glimmer and Clove flash onto the screen, Clove is so annoyed and is screaming at her. They show the scene underneath that rainy tree in full, and then skip through us finding Peeta and killing Rue. Then we find Clove and I see myself slip and fall into the water, and then Cato jumping in after me. The audience is hushed, tense at the action on screen, and Cato is blinking in a bored way as it shows him giving me mouth to mouth, reluctantly at first.

Then they skip to Cato and Clove hunting down the District 3 boy, and the audience gasps with exhilaration and I stare in horror as Cato grins before cutting the boy down. Clove gruesomely mutilates him before Cato narrows his eyes and tells her to stop. I glance at the boy beside me, he is still watching with those bored eyes, but I can feel his arm tightening.

Everything passes so quickly, but all the kisses are shown in full, to much sighing and cooing from the audience. And then him staring up into the sky in a meadow. More cooing with more kisses.

And then there is the Cornucopia scene, and I bite my lip and move closer to Cato. He looks away, suddenly interested in the pattern on the floor, as Clove crumples and as we run to her. There is the sound of sniffling from the audience and I notice tears shining in many of their eyes.

The last fight between Thresh and Cato is spectacularly filmed, and I stare with wide eyes as Cato leans forwards again. First there was the chase, and then for some reason instead of throwing their weapons they started fighting on the ground. Both were weakened, by poison and wounds. But in the end Cato slashed his throat and it was over.

They end the video with Cato telling me that it's alright and me screaming and pounding on the glass. Cato glances at me when the anthem plays again, and I stare back, daring him to make a comment. He doesn't.

There is much bowing and cheering that follows and while Cato is collected and perfectly reserved as always, my arm feels like it is about to fall off from waving so much. President Snow brings in the crown and twists it into two, and he actually seems happy for us as he places the crowns on our heads. Obviously we are extremely popular here.

...

After this we are whisked away to the president's mansion for the Victory Banquet, where we have time to eat as various sponsors and officials have their pictures taken with us. It is a huge event that is to last the whole night.

"That was quite a fight you had there." I say when we are alone by the refreshments table. Not exactly alone, the prep teams and everyone are all talking and laughing around us, but the photos have been taken.

"And that was quite a breakdown _you_ had there." Cato replies with a smirk.

"Shut up. I still think that you're obnoxious." I scowl, reaching for a pastry. There's so much food here. And everything tastes good, it's such a change from the dry bread and meat in the arena.

"Why aren't you eating? Not fancy enough?" I gesture towards the heaping plates of deserts. The bright sparkling chandeliers hundreds of feet above light up the room.

Cato moves aside for a group of officials that sweep by, and then examines the pastry in my hands. I am still trying to get over the fact that this boy in front of me may perhaps love me. His eyes flick to mine as he takes a slice of cake from the table.

"Katniss! Katniss!" I turn at my name and see Flavius, Octavia and Venia walking towards us, excited.

"Oh! It's Cato…- he made Katniss cry," Venia states, frowning. The three of them don't seem to have anything to tell me, but instead just wanted to be near the victors.

Cato smiles dangerously and Octavia whispers something into Flavius' ear while Venia suddenly finds an interest in the cake.

"Have you met my prep team? You would get along splendidly," he says, and then with another dangerous cat-like smile he starts walking away without a word.

"Ooo, that's a good idea. Let's go." The three of them don't catch on to the sarcasm and prance away in search of the other team.

"Sweetheart, don't stick around with him." As I am about to run after Cato, Haymitch appears out of nowhere and grabs my arm. "He doesn't really-"

The mentor sighs and then takes a swig of liquor from a bottle in his other hand. I wait impatiently for him to finish. Cato doesn't really _what?_ \

"Nevermind. I don't want to ruin your night. Someday you'll find out," Haymitch says. "But don't go following him."

"Why not? I'm a victor too, Haymitch. You can't tell me what to do all the time anymore."

Haymitch opens his mouth as if to deliver a sharp remark but seems to give up.

"Just be careful, sweetheart. Rumor has it that President Snow is expecting a guest."

I give him an indifferent look, what does it matter to me if a guest will be arriving? The banquet is chalk-full of hysteric rich citizens already. What is one more?

"I think that I can handle a few more pictures," I reply, shaking my arm loose. I look towards the direction of Cato's departure but a throng of laughing Capitol women has moved in, a mix of bright and eccentric colors.

"Oh, I don't think that she's looking for pictures." Haymitch says gruffly, and he disappears without giving me a chance to ask what he means.

…

I find him surrounded by a large group of women, all dressed in extravagant costumes and all tripping over each other while trying to reach him. Cato for the first time in a long while, seems wary and moves backwards as several of them press up to him.

I am stuck on the edge, looking over their wigs and hats, trying to push through.

"Ladies, please. I can't give you all what you want. Not right now." And yet while his eyes are flicking across the advancing group with alertness, his voice is light. I wonder if this is how he managed to be so upbeat when Clove woke him up after his fight with Peeta.

"There are rooms upstairs. I'm sure you can handle us." One of them, orange-skinned and with long sharp nails, calls out to Cato in that Capitol accent that I've come to dislike.

"Tonight isn't the night, lovelies," he says, and I can see that he is extremely annoyed.

Where are Enobaria and Haymitch? They must be around here. The room is huge, spanning hundreds of feet, but surely this mob of people has caught their attention? Cato is in trouble, and he knows it. I do to, the women are pushing him towards the staircase and clawing at his clothes.

Then I hear a throaty laugh and turn to see Enobaria and her golden teeth, standing on a balcony above head, and finding great amusement in the scenario. I scowl, she won't be of much help. And I doubt that Haymitch will intervene in something that seems so appealing to him.

"Cato!" I shout over their excited whispering, and Cato turns and sees me. And at the same time, I swear that all of them stop and send me dirty glares simultaneously.

"Go, Katniss. Don't get involved in this," he says. They are on the first steps now and it seems like more and more women are joining the crowd. They may have nails and heels, but I have experience.

"Move it. Move! You, move." I shoulder my way through a few of them but am quickly shoved backwards and pushed onto the ground.

"Way to treat a victor. God," I snap. They must all be Cato's sponsors. Clove was right when she said that they loved him. A little too much, it seems.

"That's no way to treat a victor, is it?" The procession stops when they hear the snarl that issues from Cato's lips. He's not playing nice anymore, and they all know.

"We're done."

In a matter of seconds the crowd is scattered and Cato is besides me, pulling me up.

"So you didn't need any help all along. I seriously thought that you were in a mess," I mutter.

"I was, but if I didn't go with it I would have lost them. I don't think that they'll be sponsoring District 2 anytime soon now," he replies with a sigh. "Enobaria is going to have to beg them for their money next year. She'll probably offer me up in exchange."

"You're kidding," I say.

"Of course I am." He smiles, but it is forced.

"No you're not. You _would_ do it if it helped one of your tributes win."

"You and Clove…always seeing through me. Don't worry about it," he says softly. "Let's go, they'll be back if we stay here."

"Ok," I follow him away from the staircase and towards the center of the room. It's hard to believe that someone can live in such luxury, the black marble floor, velvet chairs, huge arched windows, crystal chandeliers, balconies hundreds of feet in the air.

"The money he spent on this mansion is enough to feed a district for a decade," I murmur, sidestepping to avoid an Avox who is serving food. I think about how much money one of those chandeliers could cost. Just one of those fancy lights could buy everyone in the Seam a year's supply of grain.

"Depends on which district. You could feed 2 for a year, 12 for ten." Cato tilts his head to follow my wide-eyed gaze with his icy one.

"Talking about feeding…you haven't eaten much. You had a huge appetite during training; I thought you would eat more. Since it's 'fancy' food and all." I make air quotes and Cato rolls his eyes.

"Look who's talking. I don't eat unless I burn it off later. But you, Fire Girl, you need to fatten up." He smirks.

"What a nice way to put it. I need to 'fatten up'." I repeat sarcastically. An Avox offers us a drink and when Cato nudges me expectantly I take a glass. He is still smirking as he watches me slowly drain the fizzy contents.

"How does it taste?" I narrow my eyes at his grin.

"I don't know. Fizzy, I guess. Kind-of berry like…" I reply slowly.

"Berry like? We'll see." There is a mischievous spark in Cato's icy eyes and he grins for a moment more before leaning down and capturing my mouth with his.

I am so surprised that I nearly fall onto him, but he catches me. And then I close my eyes.

…

I jerk backwards and pull away when I feel Cato's tongue tracing my lips, and he smirks, not in the least apologetic. His intense gaze bores into mine, he doesn't even seem to care that almost all the guests have gathered in a circle around us, and are watching with hushed excitement.

"Still a little too young, my love. Just a little too young," Cato chuckles quietly, putting an arm around my shoulders and guiding me out of the center of the circle. I am still staring, wide-eyed, at his perfect profile when we arrive at one of the refreshment tables to the side of the hall.

Cato lets go of my shoulders and steps back, looking concerned.

"Are you alright?"

I blink quickly to snap out of my daze. _Too young_, he said.

"Who _isn't_ too young?" I mutter, looking down at the floor. For some reason I can't meet his gaze. "And what the hell was that?"

I can hear the sigh and the hesitation. And I just know that his eyes are darkening.

"Katniss, you know that you're not my first."

Yes, I know. I know that it's impossible for someone like him to not have had any affairs. But still I feel a surge of anger and perhaps worry.

"It's all in the past," Cato says, and when I look up again he is still looking at me in that concerned way.

…

Suddenly there is a huge commotion at the entrance of the hall, people are running towards the arched doors, and there is an eruption of chatter.

Even all of the onlookers watching Cato and I a few minutes ago have rushed to the other end of the room, voices merging into a mass of exhilaration.

"What now?" I raise an eyebrow, what could cause an entire hall of so-called wealthy and posed Capitol citizens to run head over heels towards it?

Cato seems just as curious and we walk down the length of dark marble, not mixing with the group but close enough to hear their frenzied conversations. It's impossible to see over their heads to who is in the entrance, even more so with the flashing of cameras.

"_She never comes to banquets!"_

"_I need my picture taken with her!"_

"_Argh, I'm going to have my face lifted tomorrow. I'll have them make it look like hers."_

"Oh, is it her?" Cato smirks and relaxes in a knowing way.

The mass of people seems to spread out again and I notice several Peacekeepers ushering them into the sides of the hall, away from the entrance.

Then I see her, standing in between two of the uniformed Peacekeepers, slim and perfect. Breathtakingly beautiful in a shimmering silver dress, staring across the guests with those notorious sapphire eyes, and as always, with a handsome young man at her side.

Rosalie Darling. Victor of the 70th annual Hunger Games, said to be the most beautiful woman in Panem at the tender age of nineteen, and…the special guest that Haymitch mentioned.

"Stop grinning." I just know that he is without taking a glance at him.

He hadn't denied it when Clove said that he was attracted to her, and I honestly don't blame him. I know how Gale always finds interest in conversations regarding Rosalie, and how no one could take their eyes from the screen her year in the Games.

"She's acting like she's the host of this party. All pretty and souped-up," I snort. Now she's dismissed the Peacekeepers and is flitting around the hall, talking with various sponsors and officials. Leaving some laughing, some awestruck, and some with envious looks.

"Jealous much?'

"Not at all," I say. Cato smirks but he is alert and interested as he watches her.

Rosalie speaks for the whole hall to hear, in that strange semi-Capitol accent of hers. "Now where are the victors?"

The good-looking dark haired man at her arm bends down and gestures in our direction. He doesn't seem to be from the Capitol, with his natural black hair and tan skin.

"Oh!" She smiles and takes small steps towards us. The clipping sound of her heels echoes throughout the quiet room, and she seems to notice.

"Please continue. I'm sorry I caused such a racket," she says. Almost immediately a healthy amount of noise arises again.

When she gets closer I am nearly rolling my eyes at the amount of jewelry she is wearing. Bracelets, necklaces, earrings, rings, even white and red carnations pinned into her wavy black hair. She's overdressed and underdressed at the same time. The silver dress is strapless and shows far too much skin for me to be ever comfortable with.

"Here you are. Congratulations!" Rosalie flashes another smile as she stops in front of Cato and I. She is about the same height as I am, although I can see that her frame is not sharp and angular but full of flawless curves.

"Miss Darling, it's a pleasure to be in your company this evening." I have to hold back a snort at Cato's smooth response. What in Panem happened to the bored expression that he adopts in these situations?

"The pleasure is mine, dear. You two both look gorgeous." She really is laying the flattery on thick, isn't she? But when I meet her kind, bright expression with a scowl, I can see that she really believes it.

"That dress is beautiful, Katniss. Your stylist must be amazing to come up with all those ravishing designs."

"Yes, Cinna _is_ amazing," I say, dropping the hostility. I am surprised at how genuinely nice she is, usually girls like her are more…flirtatious.

"And you, Cato. You look absolutely striking in that suit. Although you're taller than I thought…" The girl turns to him, blinking slowly. I'm not sure if her eyelashes are real or not, they are unusually long.

"Scandalous as always, Rosalie. How many have you gone through since this year's visit?" Cato smirks an acknowledgement at her companion. Rosalie seems amused.

"Rose…" The man at the victor's arm speaks for the first time.

"It's alright, Taye. I love you, remember?" she kisses him quickly and then spins around to face the eager guests and their flashing cameras. They've been watching the whole exchange since it began.

"No cameras, my dolls. And please don't let me interrupt your night, there's no need to stay and watch us."

I nudge Cato as he stares at them kiss again, and he glances at me apprehensively.

"Oh Cato, Cato, Cato." Rosalie steps forward so she is dangerously close to him. The way she says his name makes me nervous. Clipped vowels but long tones, it is said that she spends so much time here in the Capitol that she has picked up half of a Capitol accent.

"You really should be more careful with your sponsors. Refusing their demands and then calling one scandalous…you're standing on the edge, my dear."

* * *

><p><strong>Cato:<strong>

I stare into the wide blue eyes so close to my own and find nothing but truthfulness. She sponsored me?

Katniss seems just as incredulous. "You sponsored Cato? I thought that mentors couldn't."

"Well, they tweaked the rules this year with a bit of ah…" Rosalie adjusts her dress. She must be looking for trouble. It's so short that her legs seem even longer, and with so many males in the room…

"…persuasion." I clear the thoughts from my head just as she finishes her sentence. She raises an eyebrow at me, letting me know how much she had to do to be able to sponsor. A little too much, from the look she is giving.

Taye and Katniss don't get it yet. Rosalie hasn't chosen someone much special this time, he looks like he's simply a mayor's son or a wealthy heir from one of the districts. Perhaps she chose him since he looks so much like her. Black hair, tanned skin, fine features. The difference is that while he was born dark, Rosalie was pale the last time she made a public appearance. That, and while his eyes are black, hers are a captivating blue. They…they're different from another pair. Different in a good way, deeper than that pale marine that I sometimes still dream about.

"How much money did you bribe them with?" he asks, and I chuckle at his obliviousness. He's shallow-minded, it must be luck that brought him to her attention.

"It doesn't matter. Some things are worth more than money anyways," she says.

Katniss is as innocent as she looks in that flickering dress, and assumes nothing. "So, couldn't his sponsors have done without you?"

I look across the crowd and see several said sponsors glaring at Rosalie and Katniss. Actually, everyone is still watching. They sip their wine and talk amongst themselves but their eyes are wandering.

"Maybe. All I know is that I bought you the antidote for the poison. I had it with me when I went to see your mentor. But Enobaria wouldn't accept it; she said that she didn't want help from a 'beauty queen'."

She pauses, stepping back from me and clutching on to the arm of her companion. Her voice is softer and filled with sorrow.

"If only I had known what would happen at the feast, I would have insisted. I'm so sorry…"

I stand motionless, processing her words.

"Enobaria'd better watch her back." I finally mutter.

"I'm sorry," Rosalie says with dismay.

I think that it's the malnourished past that causes Katniss to ask, "How in the world were you able to buy something so expensive?"

"It's not all about money, Katniss. Nothing's about money. It's useless," Rosalie snaps. "Friendship is worth a mountain of gold. Love is priceless."

"So I could say that the antidote was priceless," she continues.

Just then an Avox approaches and holds out a tray of deserts. I give him a cold stare, now is not the time. He is backing away when the raven-haired victor beckons him forward again.

"I need sugar. Thank you, dear." She takes a slice of cake. "Your eyes are a lovely shade of green. They remind me of Finnick's eyes."

The Avox casts his eyes downwards at the obvious compliment, but turns red as he leaves.

I want to ask _"You eat sugar?" _But Rosalie looks so tired that I stay silent.

She seems drained and takes a bite of the cake before speaking. "I need to leave now, my dears. I seem to have upset everyone, I'm sorry. I'm not acting like myself tonight."

* * *

><p><strong>Katniss:<strong>

That's pretty obvious, in the arena four years ago she was so cheerful and bright that it was as if she didn't know that she might be killed any moment. Over the years Rosalie Darling was known as the spark of humor in the pre-Games program. She and Finnick were always shown on television in some form or another and always, always she was smiling.

"Good luck tomorrow, Cato."

"And Katniss…" Rosalie whispers, leaning in. "I didn't touch him tonight, but there's always next year. Take care of him, he's priceless."

She and Taye are gone and whisked away by the mob in moments.

_Priceless_, she said. _Love is priceless. The antidote is priceless. He's priceless. _

And…_There's always next year._

Oh god. I can only hope that she is right, that she is not herself tonight.

…

"I feel like it's Valentine's Day," I say to Cinna. The final interviews are taking place down the hall in the sitting room, and they've been moving huge vases of roses in all morning.

"I know. That's why I picked this dress for you. Go on now, you'll be fine." My stylist smiles and nudges me towards the open door.

Caesar Flickerman gives me a warm hug when I come in. "Congratulations Katniss. How are you faring?"

"Fine. Nervous about the interview," I say.

"Don't be. We're going to have a fabulous time," he replies, giving my shoulder a reassuring pat.

"I'm not good at talking about myself," I insist.

"I bet that Cato'll have plenty to say about you. Nothing you two say will be wrong," he smiles.

_Nothing Cato says will be wrong, but I feel like I'm about to faint. _I think.

I haven't seen Cato since last night and when he strides in, confident and handsome in red and white, he immediately says, "Now all we're missing are the wedding bells."

This draws a laugh from everyone, and when one photographer gets up to leave the room, Cato quickly adds, "I was just kidding."

Everyone laughs again, Caesar seems pleasantly surprised at Cato's cheerfulness and announces that they are ready for us. There is no audience, just a few cameras to record the event.

"You look like a dying swan, love," Cato says. I roll my eyes as we sit down on the love seat somewhat formally.

"See? Your dress is beautiful and white, and you have red shoes. A swan," he smirks. I decide to let it slide, but can't pass up the chance to make a crack at him.

"And you look just like a picnic blanket. Red and white, and good for sitting on," I say, and surprising myself with my sudden boldness, I scoot onto his lap.

"Go on, Cato. It looks very sweet when you two sit like that." Caesar smiles, and I kick off my shoes and get comfortable while Cato sighs dramatically.

"The things I have to do to keep up with your unwanted advances." But he puts an arm around me like always and smirks at the crew's chuckling.

Someone counts backwards and we are live, being broadcast to the whole country. Caesar is wonderful, joking, teasing, getting too moved to speak when the occasion presented itself. Cato provides plenty of humor and sarcasm to the interview, and I smile down at my hands while he and Caesar laugh. I don't speak much, of course I answer when asked a question and provide insight on the topics they discuss, but always redirect Caesar's attention to Cato.

Then Caesar starts posing questions that require fuller answers. Cato shifts his legs and I clutch onto his arm to keep from falling off when the announcer says, "Well, Katniss, to me it appeared that you were intrigued from the start. Tributes from outlying districts don't usually join such a powerful alliance. What about Cato caused you to trust him in the first place?"

Erm. I don't even know myself. "That's a hard one…" I laugh weakly.

I'm too embarrassed to explain my fascination with his good looks and confidence, along with his talent.

"Perhaps it was simply an instinct. Sometimes there is no reason for fated lovers to meet, and they do anyways," Caesar says in mysterious tone.

I'll go with that, as silly as it sounds, I know that he is just trying to help me.

"Yes, that must be it. I just felt like I could be safe in the alliance with him there."

"And you were, very safe. He definitely protected you well," he agrees, and I feel Cato's stomach muscles tightening as he shifts again.

I am glad when the next question goes to Cato. To me, staring blankly or smiling into the cameras like past victors did seems too nerve-wracking, so I just look down at my hands.

"And Cato, wow. What a ride for you. I think that the real thrill for the audience was watching Katniss grow on you. At what point did you realize that you loved her?"

Cato is quiet for a moment, considering the question. "I think…it was when she fell into that river. I had no choice but to jump in after her, I couldn't lose her so easily after saving her so many times prior to that."

Behind the cameras I see Enobaria's mouth open in a silent laugh. The way he says it makes it seem like it's my fault that he loved me.

"And I was afraid of what Clove would do once she realized that most of our food was in Katniss' backpack," he says with a smirk.

Everyone laughs at this, and I imagine that all over Panem people are smiling.

"And in the end nothing was in vain and you two had quite the romance going on. What about when you were going to leave her to go after Thresh? What were you feeling?"

"Caesar, you're set on getting _something_ out of me, aren't you?" Cato chuckles. "I wanted her to be safe so that if I died during that fight, she would still be alive and well. What happened to me didn't matter anymore at that point."

Hearing him say it right out like that brings a smile to my face, and I decide that it's time to grace the audience with some of my awkwardness. That, and while Cato is bringing happy tears to the crew's eyes with his answers, I haven't said even close to enough.

"There's no point in me being alive if you were gone," I say.

"Let's not get too deep into this," Cato smirks, but he brings my face to his and we are staring each other in the eye. "Anyways, I hoped that you were holding on to that kiss like I asked. I know that I was."

"God, that was cheesy. Sorry, it just seemed like something that would go well into this conversation. Apparently not." Cato smirks and then kisses me softly, and people in the room sigh.

We continue the interview, Caesar Flickerman seems quite intent on reviewing each occasion in which we kissed, and then goes over the poison and Clove's 'absolutely heart-breaking' death. When he mentions the antidote to the poison, Cato is tense and quivering, and I know that he is thinking about last night. Caesar must know about it, so many people were listening in on our conversation at the banquet.

Finally Caesar signs off and everyone's laughing and hugging and congratulating us. Effie and Haymitch are receiving lots of attention as well.

As we are leaving a cameraman runs into the room, breathing hard. He goes to Caesar and we catch everything that he says from our vantage point at the door.

"Mr. Flickerman, sir. News on Rosalie Darling and Finnick Odair." He stops to catch his breath and the announcer waits with a wide smile.

"Rosalie ended her affair with Taye Helister last night and this morning she and Finnick Odair were seen together. Kissing, it seems."

"Very good. The District 4 lovebirds are at it again. This will be fabulous for this week's show. Thank you."

Cato rolls his eyes and he and Enobaria leave to pack for the train, and I return to my room to gather the few belongings I have here.

There's nothing except for the pin that Madge gave me what seems like an eternity ago. So much has happened in the past few weeks.

I barely have time to say goodbye to Cinna, although I'll see him again in a few months for the Victory Tour, and then they drive us through the streets in this fancy car with dark windows. The train's waiting for us, with two compartments, one for Cato and one for me.

Haymitch doesn't let me talk to Cato until after our enormous dinner with seats set for three, and after Effie, Haymitch, and I all sit down to watch the interview replay.

"Can I go now?" I ask after the screen goes dark. Effie went to bed a while ago, claiming that she had to get a healthy ten hours of rest each night, but Haymitch is still slumped on the couch with his wine.

"Fine, but don't come complaining when that old grump sends you back," he says. I assume that he's talking about Enobaria, Cato's escort is a young man with bright blue hair.

Sure enough, when I knock on his compartment's door, I can hear scuffling and then he and Enobaria are talking quickly in annoyed tones. Finally his mentor opens the door and sniffs down at me.

"Cato is busy, come back tomorrow." Without giving me a chance to speak, she slams the door in my face.

…

I don't get to speak to him until the next morning when the train stops for fuel. Wherever we are, the Capitol has cameras waiting for us and I feel strangely naked in my simple shirt and pants, and the braid that I'm sure Panem has come to know.

Cato stumbles down the steps shirtless, and I roll my eyes.

"No need to show off, Cato." Of course he's as toned as ever.

"I'm not. Enobaria has the temperature below freezing in there." As if this explains everything Cato stops talking and when I touch my hand to his arm it is ice-cold.

"And...?" I prompt.

"She _says _that it's got something to do with tight muscles, but I think she just likes seeing me suffer," he smirks.

"So, you'll be a mentor when you get home."

"Yes," he says, leaning against the train. I think that whatever method of torture or toning that Enobaria used worked. The females of Panem will be served some eye candy when this footage is broadcasted.

"So is today the last time I see you until the tour?" I ask. Cato will go home as a victor when we arrive at District 2 this afternoon, and then tomorrow night I will be arriving home.

"Yes," he says again, not looking at me.

"What's wrong?" He's acting strangely.

"It's nothing. I think that we can board again. I'll see you later?" I nod as he returns to his compartment as quickly as he arrived out here, and then go back inside as well, dazed.

…

District 2 is just as wealthy as Cato hinted and as expected. From the train station I can see the tops of mansions and pretty trees. And then a huge mountain right in the middle, towering over everything.

Cato was 'busy' again when I went to see him an hour ago, and this is the last time we'll be able to talk in a few months. So when the train pulls to a stop I spring up and run out just as Cato is getting off.

"Katniss?" He has to shout over the roar of the crowd waiting for him, and I look across the well-dressed citizens of District 2, all cheering and screaming his name.

He touches my shoulder and guides me back up the steps into the small hallway between compartments. The door shuts behind us and it is just the two of us.

"Ah, they're a bit loud. I didn't think so many people would show up." He obviously knew that they would though, I can see it from his smirk.

"Stop pretending, Cato." I scowl.

"I'm going to miss that scowl. Make sure that it's still there when I see you again." He gives me that crooked smile and stares at me with those piercing eyes. "Ok?"

I nod, and we are quiet for a moment, just gazing at each other. Cato puts his hand on the latch, ready to exit the train again.

"Wait. Don't go yet," I quickly say. "I have something to tell you."

"What is it, love?" He pauses and I gather up my breath while the muffled cheering continues outside. Cato waits patiently, head tilted.

"I'm not too young," I murmur. It's barely audible but he clearly hears me.

And then Cato blinks and then quickly pins me to the fancy papered wall like that day in the rain, under that tree.

"I know." He fixes me with that brilliant, intense look. "I know."

…

I close my eyes as we melt into paradise.


	21. Footnote

Hello all my lovely followers, readers, and everyone else who has been going along with this story. **Many of you have been asking for a sequel and may not be aware that I've already posted one. It is called "Insurgence" and the first three chapters are up.** I hope that you enjoy it as much as you did this one, and I would like to sincerely thank you all for the support and kindness shown to my first fanfic.

I love you all, and I hope that you'll continue to support me. *hugs*


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